OF THE PA
VOL. XI.
; ?
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. XI.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
NOTE.
Every Text here given is either now translated for the first
time, or has been specially revised by the Translator to the
date of this publication.
RECORDS OF THE PAST:
BEING
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS.
PUBUSHED UNDER THE SANCTION
OF
THE SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY.
VOL. XL
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
"
-
SEP 0 3 1987
Multa; terricolis linguae, ccelestibus una.
LONDON :
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFACE ... ... ... ... ... ... i
Inscription of Rimmon-Nirari I. ... ... ... i
By Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
Record of a Hunting Expedition ... ... ... 7
By Rev. W. HOUGHTON, M.A., F.L.S.
Inscription of Assur-izir-pal ... ... ... ... 1 1
By W. BOOTH FINLAY.
Bull Inscription of Khorsabad ... ... ... 15
By Prof. Dr. JULIUS OPPERT.
Inscriptions of the Harem of Khorsabad ... ... 27
By Prof. Dr. JULIUS OPPERT.
Texts of the Foundation Stone of Khorsabad ... 31
By Prof. Dr. JULIUS OPPERT.
Babylonian Legends found at Khorsabad ... ... 41
By Prof. Dr. JULIUS OPPERT.
Nebbi Yunus Inscription of Sennacherib ... ... 45
By ERNEST A. BUDGE.
Oracle of Istar of Arbela ... ... ... ... 59
ByTHEOPHILUS GOLDRIDGE PlNCHES.
Report Tablets ... ... ... ... ... 73
ByTHEOPHiLus GOLDRIDGE PINCHES.
Texts relating to the Fall of the Assyrian Empire ... 79
By Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
The Egibi Tablets 85
ByTHEOPHILUS GOLDRIDGE PlNCHES.
The Defence of a Magistrate falsely Accused ... 99
By the late H. Fox TALBOT, F.R.S.
The Latest Assyrian Inscription ... ... ... 105
By Prof. Dr. JULIUS OPPERT.
Ancient Babylonian Legend of the Creation ... 107
By Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
The Overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah ... ... 115
By Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
Chaldean Hymns to the Sun ... ... ... 119
By FRANCOIS LENORMANT.
Two Accadian Hymns ... ... ... ... 129
By Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
Assyrian Incantations to Fire and Water 133
By ERNEST A. BUDGE.
Assyrian Tribute Lists ... ... ... ... 139
By Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
An Assyrian Fragment on Geography ... ... 145
By Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
Accadian Proverbs and Songs ... ... ... 151
By Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
Assyrian Fragments ... ... ... ... ... 157
By J. HALE'VY.
The Moabite Stone ... ... ... ... ... 163
By CHRISTIAN D. GINSBURG, LL.D.
PREFACE,
THE present volume is the last of the series which
will contain translations from the Assyrian, and there
will be found in it a series of texts of the highest
interest by different Assyriologists. For besides
those of historical import, which exhibit a mono-
tonous style in narrating the important events known
in their full details from the Assyrian annals, will be
found several others which are literary compositions,
prose or poetical, of great merit, and throwing light
on the contemporaneous styles of other Semitic
nations, especially prophecy and mythological narra-
tives. This branch of the inquiry is by no means
exhausted, and the time is fast approaching when a
sketch of the Assyrian religion can be traced from
the information afforded by the Assyrian inscriptions.
Although the tablets and inscriptions found at
Babylon have not presented so much of the history
of that kingdom, especially for its later annals, yet
the discovery of fragments of the age of Nebuchad-
nezzar afford promise that future excavations may
ii PREFACE.
produce documents as important as those of Assyria.
The writers in the present volume have, in some
instances, copiously illustrated their translations by
notes, and so supplied what some have conceived to
be a want in the texts previously given. Besides the
translations from Assyrian texts, a translation has
been given by Dr. Ginsburg of the " Moabite Stone,"
now in the Louvre. It is a document so connected
with Biblical Archaeology that its place in this volume
is most appropriate, as concluding the Semitic portion
of the work. It is impossible to close this Preface
without a deep expression of sorrow at the recent
death of Mr. W. R. Cooper, who contributed so much
to the success of the " RECORDS OF THE PAST " by
his zeal and energy in collecting and arranging the
materials of which they are composed. His position
as Secretary of the Society of Biblical Archaeology
placed him in correspondence with the leading
Assyriologists and Egyptologists of the day, whose
co-operation he secured; and the Editor cannot
omit this opportunity of expressing the value of
Mr. Cooper's aid in carrying out the work to its
conclusion.
S. BIRCH.
November, 1878.
INSCRIPTION OF RIMMON-NIRARI I.
KING OF ASSYRIA (B.C. 1320).
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
'T'HIS inscription is written on both sides of a stone
tablet obtained by the late Mr. George Smith from
Kaleh Sherghat, the ancient Assur and first capital
of Assyria. It is an important historical document,
since it throws light on a period which has left us but
few remains. A translation of it is given by Mr.
George Smith in his Assyrian Discoveries, pp. 243-246,
and the original is copied in the Cuneiform Inscrip-
tions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., 44, 45. Assur-
yuballidh, who is mentioned in the inscription, had
married his daughter to one of the Cassite princes of
Babylonia (see Records of the Past, Vol. III., p. 29),
and the inscription would seem to show that he
subsequently received divine honours. His son, Bel-
nirari, restored the Babylonian crown to Curi-galzu,
VOL. xi. 2
2 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
the son of Burna-buryas, who had lost it by a revo-
lution. Pudil built a palace in the capital city Assur,
which is the earliest known royal residence in
Assyria, but little else is recorded of him beyond
the notice in the inscription translated below. The
concluding line shows that the system of reckoning
time by a succession of eponyms was already in
existence, so that Assyrian chronology has a firm
basis as far back, at all events, as the fourteenth
century B.C.
INSCRIPTION OF RIMMON-NIRARI I.
OBVERSE.
1 RIMMON-NIRARI, the holy Prince, appointment of god,
2 the holy conqueror, established by heaven (and) earth
(and) the gods,
3 establisher of fortresses (and) demolished buildings
4 of the host of the Cassi,2 Gutium,3 Lulumi,
5 and 'Subari,4 destroyer of all
6 enemies above and below, the trampler
7 on their countries from Lubdi(?) and Rapiku *
8 to the confines of Zabidadi and Nisi,
9 the (remover) of boundaries and landmarks,
10 the (overthrower) of Kings and Princes
1 1 (whom) the gods ANU, ASSUR, SAMAS, RIMMON
12 and ISTAR to his feet subjected;
13 the supreme worshipper of BEL.
14 The son of PUDIL, established by BEL,
15 Vicegerent of ASSUR, the conqueror
1 6 of the lands of Turuci and Nirkhi
17 as far as the frontiers of his furthest castles,6
1 8 ruling the mountains and the forests
19 of the frontiers of wide Gutium,
20 of the Gunukhlami and the 'Suti,7
2 1 their streams and lands ;
1 Literally, " the ploughing1 down of buildings."
* The Cossaeans who had conquered Babylonia.
3 The Goyim or " nations " of Gen. xiv.
4 Syria : literally, " the highlands."
5 Raphek.
6 Or, "of Carisugimeni."
7 The Bedouins.
o*
4 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
22 the remover of boundaries and landmarks.
23 The grandson of BEL-NIRARI,
24 worshipper of ASSUR also, who on the army of the
Cassi
25 laid his yoke, and the spoil of his foes
26 his hand captured, the remover of boundaries
27 and landmarks. The great-grandson
28 of ASSUR-YUBALLIDH, the powerful King,
29 whom as a worshipper in Bit-Kurra I fixed.
30 The restoration and peace of his kingdom
3 1 to distant regions like a mountain he extended ;
32 the sweeper away of the armies
33 of the wide-spread 'Subari,
34 the remover of boundaries and landmarks.
35 At that time the ascent to the temple of ASSUR my
Lord,
36 which (was before) the gate of the men of my country
REVERSE.
1 and the gate of the stars (called) Judges,1
2 which existed in former times, was decayed, and
3 was stopped up and was ruined ;
4 this place I selected,
5 its strength I took,
6 with clay and sand 4 gurs I cemented,
7 I made, to its place I restored,
8 and my inscription I placed
9 for future days. The future Prince
1 According- to Diodorus, 24 stars were called "Judges," and associated
with the Zodiac, 12 being- north and 12 south. Among these were the
Pole-star, Dayan-same or "the judge of heaven," and Dayan-esiru, "the
prospering judge," also called " the crown of heaven." " The divine days >T
or "lights of Assur" were dayani or "judges," and the names of the six
" divine judges of the temple of Assur " are given as Samela, Ismi-carabu,
Nuscu, Ilpada, Uzru-casunu and Sitamme-carabu.
INSCRIPTION OF RIMMON-NIRARI I. 5
10 at the time (when) this place
1 1 shall grow old and decay,
12 its ruins let him renew; my inscriptions (and) my
written name
13 to its place let him restore. The god ASSUR
14 his prayers heareth. Whoever my written name
15 shall erase and his own name shall write,
1 6 and the record of my inscription shall cause to wash out,
17 to destruction shall devote,
1 8 in the flood shall lay, in the fire
19 shall burn, in the water shall lay,
20 with the dust shall cover,
2 1 into a house underground, a place not seen,
22 shall cause to descend and place,
23 then I appoint these curses :
24 (even) the enemy, the stranger, the wicked one and the
injurer,
25 the hostile tongue, and whosoever
26 a rival shall urge on and excite,
27 and whatever he devises he shall accomplish.
28 ASSUR, the mighty god, who dwells in the temple of
Kharsak-kurra,
29 the gods ANU, BEL, HEA and TSIRU,
30 the great gods, the spirit of heaven,
3 1 (and) the spirit of earth, in their ministry,
32 mightily may they injure him, and
33 (with) a grievous curse quickly
34 may they curse him : his name, his seed, his forces
35 and his family in the land may they destroy ;
36 the glory of his county, the duration of his people
37 and his landmarks, by their august mouth,
38 may it go forth, and may RIMMON in inundation
39 malign inundate (with) whirlwind,
40 may the wind dry up, and amongst his offspring
6 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
41 destruction, want of crops,
42 curse (and) famine in his country may he lay, (with)
rain his country like a whirlwind may he fill,
43 to a mound and ruins may he turn ; may RIMMON in his
evil devouring his country devour.
44 (Dated) the month Mukhur-ili,1 the 2oth day, during the
eponymy of SHALMAN-KARRADU.
1 " Gift of the gods."
RECORD OF A HUNTING EXPEDITION
OF TIGLATH-PILESER I.1
(CIRC. B.C. II2O-IIOO.)
TRANSLATED BY
REV. W. HOUGHTON, M.A., F.L.S.
''THE inscription consists of about 39 lines, the
lower portion of which is broken, and some of
the lines more or less effaced ; it is published in
Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. I.,
pi. 28 : the left hand column is the hunting record,
the right hand column gives some account of the
repairs of the city of Assur. It has been supposed
by some that the king of the broken obelisk was
Assur-natsir-pal, circ. B.C. 883-858, who was, we
know, very fond of hunting ; I agree, however, with
those who would refer this inscription to a much
earlier Assyrian monarch, viz., Tiglath-Pileser I. ; there
are certain expressions in this hunting record that are
almost identical with expressions which occur in the
long inscription of this monarch ; see the translation
1 From a broken obelisk found at Kouyurijik (Nineveh), originally
belonging to Kileh Shergat (Assur), now in the British Museum.
8 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
by Sir H. Rawlinson in Records of the Past, Vol. V.,
p. 5-26. In the long inscription Tiglath-Pileser I.
himself records his own adventures ; in the Broken
Obelisk Inscription the hunting achievements are
related by some scribe who may have formed one of
the party ; in both inscriptions reference is made to
the king having killed wild bulls (rimi) near the city
Arazik in the land of the Hittites ; Ninip and Nergal
in both inscriptions are the special guardian deities of
the monarch. In the king's own inscription he speaks
of driving off the young wild goats, etc., like the young
of tame-goats. In the Obelisk we read : " their young
ones (wild goats') like the young of sheep he counted."
Perhaps the inscription on the Broken Obelisk may
have been intended to form a kind of supplement, by
distinctly enumerating the various wild animals either
killed or captured alive. Some of these names remain
at present unknown, and I have not attempted to
translate them. Those who would wish to see the
matter more fully treated can refer to my papers on
" The Mammalia of the Assyrian Sculptures," in the
Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archeology,
Vol. V., parts I and 2.
RECORD OF A HUNTING EXPEDITION.
1 NINIP and NERGAL, who love bravery, over the wild
beasts of the field
2 have conferred on him power ; in ships of Arvad
3 he sailed, a grampus in the Great Sea x he slew ;
4 fierce and large wild bulls in the city of Araziki,
5 which is opposite the land of the Hittites, and at the
foot of Lebanon he killed ;
6 the young wild bulls he captured alive ;
7 the property of them he collected; the (adult) wild bulls
with his bow
8 he killed, the (young) wild bulls which he captured
alive
9 he brought to his city of Assur; 120 lions, with his
heart,
10 valiant in brave attack, on his open chariot,
1 1 on foot, with a club he slew ; lions (too)
1 2 with his spear he killed. The thick forests
13 had invited him to hunt their game ; on days
14 of varying storms and heat, in the days of the rising of
1 5 the star Cacsidi, which is like bronze, he had hunted in
the country of Ebikh,
1 6 the countries of Urase, Azamiri, Ancurna, Pizitta,
17 Pi . . .2 iz, Casiyari, provinces of the land of Assyria
and Khana,
1 8 the borders of the land of Lulime, and the provinces of
the lands of Nairi ;
19 wild goats, deer, spotted-stags,
20 ibexes in herds he took ;
1 Mediterranean. * Lacuna.
10 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
21 the property of them he collected and brought forth;
their young ones
22 like the young of sheep he counted; leopards,
23 tigers, jackals, two powerful bears,
24 mal-zir-khui he slew; wild asses and
25 gazelles, hyenas and simkurri
26 he killed ; (large) antelopes, wild cattle, and tesetu, the
huntsmen whom
27 he sent had taken; the wild cattle he collected, and
brought together
28 the property of them; the men of his country he caused
to feed ;
29 a great black crocodile, scaly beast of the river, and
animals of the
30 Great Sea, the King of Egypt caused to be brought; the
men of his country he caused to feed.
31 As to the rest of the numerous animals and winged
birds of heaven,
32 which among the beasts of the field were (also) the spoil
of his hands, their names, together with animals
33 of the land for multitude, were not written ; their
number with those (former) numbers was not written.1
34 He (then) left the countries, the acquisition of his hand;
roads strange
35 ... .* the good (places) in his chariot, and the difficult
on his feet,
36 he had marched over . . . .* their destruction he had
effected
37 ... ." these . . . ." not penetrating countries
38 . ..." from the city Duban of ... .3 Accadi . . . .*
39 country of the West.3
1 I.e., " he killed more animals than he kept account of."
* Lacunae. * Palestine.
II
INSCRIPTION OF ASSUR-IZIR-PAL(P).
TRANSLATED BY
W. BOOTH FINLAY.
first volume of the Cuneiform Inscriptions of
Western Asia, pi. 28, contains an inscription from
a broken obelisk, attributed by Sir Henry Rawlinson
to Sardanapalus (Assur-izir-pal). The learned General
is of opinion that this obelisk, which was found in the
ruins of Koyunjik, had been originally erected at
Elassar (Kileh-Shergat), as the second column of the
inscription treats principally of buildings belonging to
this latter city.
There is however nothing in the inscription itself
to identify the obelisk with Assur-izir-pal, whose early
capital was Elassar, rather than with a later king, who
reigned at Nineveh where the monument was found.
Indeed, there are fair grounds for attributing it to a
later monarch than Assur-izir-pal, as it seems strange
12 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
that buildings of his father and grandfather should
have fallen into decay within so short a period.
In the uncertainty, and for sake of reference, I
have left the designation as it stands in the volume
of inscriptions. A translation was made by the late
Mr. Fox Talbot in 1859, which was published in the
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XIX.
M. Oppert also translated the inscription in his
Histoire des Empires de Chaldee et d'Assyrie, 1865,
p. 132-135, which translation has been followed by
M. Menant in the different fragments given by him
in his Annales des Rois d ' Assyrie.
The following translation differs slightly from the
latter ; that of the late Mr. Fox Talbot has been
considerably amended by the progress made in
Assyriology since 1859.'
1 The first column having been already translated by the Rev. William
Houghton, see pp. 7-10, the continuation of the text only is here given.
W.R.C.
INSCRIPTION OF ASSUR-IZIR-PAL(P).
COLUMN II.
1 Bit-Abusate, the Palace of my lordship, had become too
small,
2 the storehouses and all its buildings had decayed, and
3 from its foundations to its roof I rebuilt it.
4 Bit-Sahuri, which IRIS-BIN (had built), and its massive
buildings
5 facing the North, which ASSUR-IDIN-AKHI, King of
Assyria,
6 had erected, having fallen in ruins, I rebuilt. The moat
7 of my city Assur, which had been destroyed, and which
• the earth had filled up,
8 from the great gate . . .'to the gate of the Tigris I dug.
9 The fir posts of the great iron gate Sahu I removed,
10 excellent beams of shittim wood I made,
11 and with sheets of copper I joined them. The great
citadel
1 2 of my city Assur completely
13 I built. Heaps of earth round about it
14 against the raised part I spread.2 A temple of cedar,
15 a temple of ivory, a temple of fatm-vrood,3 a temple of
carved wood,
1 6 in my city Assur I made. For the castles 4 burfyisi, and
174 lions of adamant, 2 sacred bulls and lions
1 8 of polished stone, 2 bur his of fine white stone
1 Lacuna.
1 Probably a network of earthen fortifications rendering the access to
the citadel difficult.
J Oppert translates butni by " pistachier."
14 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
1 9 I made, and in their gates I set them up.
20 The canal which ASSUR-DAN-IL had dug,
21 its head was destroyed, and for 30 years the water
within it
2 2 did not run ; the head of that canal I dug over again,
23 and the water into its bed I brought ; trees I planted
alongside.
24 The parapet which for the great dyke of the gate of the
Tigris
25 BiN-NiRARi, King of Assyria, had built, had gone to
decay
26 and had perished. On the water-courses cement
2 7 and brick for 5 measures I laid. The building
28 of the Palace Kumti, which before Kisalate
29 TiGLATH-NiNiP,1 King of Assyria, had made,
30 for the length of i us and 3 kumani-alib had gone to
decay
3 1 and had perished, from its foundation to its roof I built
it up.
32 The Palace in the city Iz . . .a which risfyuli, which of
the city Lib3 . . .'
33 The Palace Kumta in ma-a-qa
34 The Palace in the city Atki, which . . .*
35 I built '
36 the fortress "
1 Tiglath-Ninip II. was the father, and Bin-Nirari II. the grandfather,
of Assur-izir-pal.
1 Lacunae.
3 Probably Libzu, i.e., Assur. T.G.P.
BULL INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD.
TRANSLATED BY
PROF. DR. JULIUS OPPERT.
PHIS document has a great historical interest for
the history of cuneiform decipherment. It was the
first inscription which was translated ; to the study
of this text, first sent over by Botta from Nineveh, is
attached the most ancient reading, and the first identi-
fication of the name of an Assyrian king, made by
Adrian de Longperier in 1847. -M. de Saulcy studied
this text in 1 849, and attempted its interpretation even
before the publication of the Babylonian Behistun text
of Sir Henry Rawlinson. The first translation has
been made in Scotland ; it was laid by myself before
the Glasgow Meeting of the British Association in
1855, and published in the Transactions of the His-
torical Society of Cheshire and Lancashire, 1856, and
equally in the Annales de Philosophie Chretienne, 1855.
1 6 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
The discovery of many other texts drew the attention
of Assyriologists away from this important document,
which was for the first time, only in 1870, published
with its transliteration and an interlinear translation
in my Dour-Sarkayan, Paris. Since that epoch, it
has been several times reprinted, and its locutions
have been discussed by MM. Menant, Schrader,
Praetorius, and others.
This new English translation contains some im-
portant improvements and emendations on the former
French version.
BULL INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD.
PALACE of SARGON, the great King, the powerful King,
King of the legions, King of Assyria, Viceroy of the gods
at Babylon, King of the Sumers, and of the Accads,1
favourite of the great gods, the only herdsman2 of the
peoples to whom ASSUR, NEBO, and MERODACH, have
confided sovereign power, and whose glorious name they
have spread to the extremities of the earth.
He fulfilled the hopes of Sippara, of Nipur, of Babylon.
He reunited the dominions of Kalu, Ur, Erit, Larsa,
Kul lab, Kisik,3 Nivit-Laguda;4 he subdued their inhabitants.
He ratified the laws of the ancient empire,5 when the Kings
interpreted to his favour the eclipse over Harran,6 and
wrote their treaties according to the will of ANU and of
DAGON.
Valiant and powerful, sharpening his arms7 he shot
off his arrows for subduing the rebels. He routed the
1 That is, of the Turanian Sumers, and of the Semitic Accads.
1 The metaphor of "herdsman," ri'u, is now used in Turkey of the
subjects, who are named "the herd," r'aya.
3 See on those cities the remarks made on the texts in Records of the
Past, Vols. VII., IX.
4 Dwelling-place of the god Laguda.
5 Pal-mit-ki, explained in the syllabaries by " Assur."
6 This is the lunar eclipse of March 19, B.C. 721 (9,280), mentioned by
Ptolemy. The matter becomes very intelligible to us, since we know
the various portenta predicted from the position of the moon. But this
eclipse proves also, that the accession of Sargon cannot occur till
B.C. 722 (9,279)-
7 Halib namurrati.
VOL. XI. 3
1 8 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
King of Elam, he conquered the countries of Van,
Karalla, Andia, Zikirtu, Kisasi, Kharkhar, and placed
Media and Ellip under the dominion of ASSUR. He
declared war with Armenia, and took the city of Musasir,
when the Armenian, URSAHA, fearing his power, cut off his
life with his own hand. He made slaves of the Princes of
Circesium,1 of Hamath, of Commagene, of the city of
Asdod, of the people of Hatti,2 his enemies who did not
reverence the memory of the gods and who contemplated
revolt. He appointed Lieutenants over all these countries
for the purpose of governing the provinces, and he imposed
tributes upon these people, as upon the Assyrians. He
swept away Samaria, and the whole house of OMRI 3 and
Kaska. He subdued the country of Tubal, and the whole
of Bet-Burutas, he overcame Egypt near the city of Raphia,
and placed HANUN, King of Gaza, in slavery. He crushed
the city of Sinukhta. He put MITA, King of the Moschiens
to flight. He changed the citadels of Kue and the marshes.
He swam like a fish to Yamna which is in the sea. He
drove away GUNZINAN of Khammanua, and TARHULARA of
Gamgum from their dwellings ; he confiscated the whole of
their possessions, which he reduced to an Assyrian province.
He subjugated the seven Kings of Yahnaghe of the coast of
Yatnan (Cyprus) who had taken up their residence, seven
days' voyage, in the middle of the sea of the setting sun.
He attacked Ras, subdued Pukud, the inhabitants of Tamun,
and the city of Lahir. And he established the country of
Yatburi under his dominion. , He chastised MERODACH-
BALADAN King of Chaldsea. the enemy who, contrary to
the wish of the great gods, had exercised sovereign power at
1 Carchemis. 2 Syria.
5 This is the usual designation of the Israelitish kingdom in the later
texts; Salmanassar quotes Sir 'iL
BULL INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 19
Babylon,1 and the force of his arm came to him. He took
off the foundation-stone of Dur-Yakin the city of his revolt,
and heaped up in the depths of the sea, as on a threshing-
floor, the corpses of these warriors. And UPIR, King of
Dilmun, whose abode was established like that of fishes,
thirty parasangs 3 in the middle of the sea of the rising sun,
when he heard all these things brought his tributes.
The king anxious to fulfil his duty,3 and fostering a lucky
intention, directed his mind to people those extensive habi-
tations, to open porticoes, and to stick measuring pegs.
Then above the valley which is at the foot of the mountains,
to replace Nineveh, I founded a town, and I gave it the
name of Dur-Sarkin.4 There I planted a variegated forest,
reviving the memory of Mount Amanus which contains
all the different kinds of trees in Syria, and all the plants
growing on the mountains, and I fixed the limits of its
extent.
Three hundred and fifty ancient kings had exercised before
1 It is said in other texts during twelve years. We have some
"olives" dating1 down till the twelfth year, and which were destined, pro-
bably, to serve for control to the women in the temple of Astarte at
Babylon. They were brought by Sargon from Babylon to Khorsabad
when Place discovered them. I published these curious monuments in my
Dour-Sarkayan, p. 27. Mr. Boscawen believes that there were olives
dating down to the twentieth year of Merodach-Baladan. But this
statement is erroneous, and rests only upon a misprint in my book,
p. 27, 1. 32, in the Assyrian text; my translation gives, line 33, the true
reading of the tenth year. Mr. Boscawen says, that the number 20 is to
be found in one of the Louvre documents without stating his author. At
any rate, he scarcely saw it in the Louvre, as the original is in my own
writing-desk, and affords the number " ten."
8 The kasl'u is a parasang, 30 stades, 5923mS, 6478 yards. The double
of it was the kasluqaqqar, the schosnus of the Greeks, n847m6, or 12956
yards, seven miles and three furlongs. The word parasang is Persian,
pardthanga, new Persian, farsakh ; the measure is still used in the East.
3 Here the style is in the first person. 4 "Fort of Sargon."
3*
20 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
me sovereign power over Assyria, and had embellished
the empire of BEL ; ' but not one of them had touched thfs
place, nor had proposed to people it, nor had thought of
digging canals, nor of driving in measuring pegs. In the
depth of my heart I have resolved peopling this city,
erecting altars,3 the footstools of the great gods, and palaces,
the abodes of royalty; I have decided upon its foundation.
On the propitious day of the happy month, the month of
Sivan, on the day ap ap? I measured the ground,4 and I
moulded bricks. In the month of Ab, the month of the god
who lays the founding stone of towns and of houses, all the
people assembled performed the ceremony of sulul* (of the
hand bells) on gold, on silver, on copper, on metals, on stones,
on the trees of Amanus, and according to the rule distributed
the various employments. I laid the foundations and
placed the bricks. I constructed smoking altars which are
like part of the debt which we owe for the foundation to the
gods HEA, SIN (Lunus), SAMAS (Sun), NEBO, BiN6 and NINIP.
1 This is a very important statement, and almost the only one which
alludes to the universal history of anterior kings. The actual figures of
Berosus' Babylonian kings give a very inferior number; they bear out
only 222 kings. It is therefore probable, that Sargon included also the
independent kings of Assyria in this number of 350.
' Makhkhi. An obscure word.
3 A designation of a certain day, which is unknown.
4 The former translation, "I burnt aloes," alltt tisadrig, must be
abandoned.
5 It may be also the deposition of several things, thrown on the foun-
dation ground, and which were found by M. Place in the sand stratum
under the bulls. The word snlul may signify " launching."
6 The name of this god is really Bin, or Ben. The Sumerian word leni
expresses the letter u, " master." The fanciful readings of Vul, Raman,
and others are to be abandoned. The name of Benhadar, the antagonist
of Ahab, is not Vul-idri, Raman-idri, but Bin-hidri.
BULL INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 21
With their assistance I constructed palaces of skins of
takhash* of sandal-wood, of ebony, of tamarisk, of cedar-
wood, and of pistachio-tree, for the purpose of lodging my
royalty in them.
Above I disposed of the cedar and the cypress beams.
As to the doors of cypress and tamarisk, I surrounded them
with stripes of brass, and I symmetrically ornamented the
interstices. I had a winding staircase made like the one of
the palace of Syria, which in the Phoenician language is
called bit appati. Eight double lions weighing i ncr (ton)
6 sossa (quintals), and 50 talents,3 and of first-rate bronze, in
honoui of MYLITTA were sculptured on the doors ; and four
beams of timmi and of bent cedar exactly corresponding
to their 64 kubur, coming from Mount Amanus were
placed on the lions 3 to fill up the namrir.* I had a
garland of field animals and of sacred images hewn in
stones from the mountains iski, sculptured very artistically
on the (arched roof) s of the doors. I placed the lintels
in the four heavenly directions, under them I arranged
cornices of large black stones which came from countries
which my arm has conquered; I made strong walls round the
partitions, and I opened the doors for the admiration of my
subjects.
Three ners6 and a third, one stadium, one fathom
1 A very obscure word.
* This is 1010 talents, viz., i ner . . 600 talents
6 soss . . 360 „
50 talents . 50 „
101 o talents.
A Babylonian talent is to an English hundredweight Avoirdupois, exactly
as three to five ; the quantity is therefore 606 cwt., 30600 kilograms.
3 Nirgalli. 4 These technical architectural terms are not clear.
5 Tappi. o Miles.
22 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
and a half, two spans,1 this is the dimension of the
1 This is the capital passage for the restoration of Assyrian measure-
ments. The passage was explained in 1872, in the Journal Asiatique.
Here are the leading- principles of this restoration of Assyrian metrology.
Neither at Persepolis, nor at Nineveh, is there to be found an exact
square; everywhere, and very likely by an unknown superstition, we
meet always with oblongs differing slightly from an exactly quadrate form.
It is also to be proved, that the smaller two sides of this rectangular
parallelogram, contain a round number, and that the others afford an
excess of unconstant proportion. In the present instance Botta's exact
measurements give to the small side of the Khorsabad walls 1645, and to
the large one 1750 metres. The proportion of these sides are as i : 1,06.
The whole circumference is therefore 6790 metres, 7426 yards ; it is styled
in the round number and in the excess thus, 6580 (4 x 1645) + 210
(2 x 105) as following : —
35 ners, at 7200 spans .... 24000 spans
i soss or stade, at 720 spans . . . 720 ,,
1 fathom and a half, at 12 spans (variant:
3 canes at 6 spans) . . . . 18 ,,
2 spans 2 „
24,740 spans.
Why do we not find 3 ners, 4 soss, and 21 fathoms, and 8 spans, or
43 canes, and 2 spans? Because the author would express this idea : If
the square would have been regular, it would have been 24000 spans long,
4 sides at 6000 spans each; but as the greater sides have each 370 spans
more, 6370 spans, the 740 spans are pointed out apart. The formula of
Khorsabad is very important for the history of mathematical terms : the
perimeter of a rectangle is enunciated in order to determine in the mean
time the four sides and the area.
2 sides at 6,000 12,000 spans
2 sides at 6,370 . . . . . . 12,740 „
Total 24,740 spans.
The exactness of this explanation is demonstrated in a stringently
mathematical way : 6000 to 6370, or 600 to 637, is as i : 1.06166, just as
1650 is to 1750 (or more exactly 1646^ to 1748, as Botta measured only at
a limit of half a decameter). This marvellous coincidence affords thus the
discovery of Assyrian metrology. This proportion of two sides of i65Om,
1799 yards, and two sides of 1750™, 1914 yards, corrected to 1801 and
1912 yards, which bear out the 7426 yards of the circumference, are also
in the proportion of i : 1.0616. As 1801 yards are just 6000 spans, or
BULL INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 23
wall.1 I laid the founding stone on the bare rock. At the
3000 cubits, the proportion of the yard to the Assyrian span is as three
to ten, and that of the yard to the Assyrian cubit as three to jive. This
is a statement with mathematical force and rigour.
The Assyrian span is therefore exactly io4/5 inches, and the cubit 2i3/s
inches. We have consequently with an almost strict assimilation for the
Assyrian stade 216 yards, for the parasang 6480 (6478) yards, and for
the schoenus 12,960 yards, 7 miles, 2 furlongs, 200 yards, where the error
can only amount to the trifling one of four yards.
The two smaller walls of Khorsabad were 3000 cubits long, and the
larger ones 3000 cubits, and 185 cubits or 100 ells. An ell had 37 ulan.
The little oblong of the excess was a surface of 555,000 square cubits,
as the palace itself was 2,220 square double fathoms. We meet elsewhere
with multiple of 37.
My distinguished friend, Professor Lepsius asks, if instead of 3T/s ners,
we ought not to admit 4 sars and 3 ners, that is 27 ners. If the eminent
Egyptian scholar had studied, I do not say the Assyrian documents,
but only the two passages of the Bull inscription, he would not have
raised this question in his paper at the Berlin Academy; he would have
been aware that the ner is only alluded to, as it can be shown by this
very document, in the statement of the weight of the copper lions. The calcu-
lation of 191,540 spans (U) would give i inch 5 lines for a span, 2 inches
10 lines for the cubit, 21 yards for the stade, and 630 yards for the
parasang of three miles ! ! !
I have replied to the views of Dr. Lepsius in the Monatslerichte of the
Berlin Academy (Dec., 1877, and March, 1878), where my learned friend
opposed some remarks to mine; but these are easily to be refuted. The
German scholar doubts ultimately whether the now existing ramparts
are really the outer wall, or dm; mentioned in this inscription ! Now the
identity of the dur is ascertained undoubtedly by the eight entrance
doors, which still exist, and were excavated by M. Place. All persons
who have seen, or who will visit the Khorsabad remains, will be satisfied
with the certainty that never a fancy wall existed exterior to the
now existing wall, where the foundation tablets were discovered. This
apocryphical outer rampart has only been invented in order to find the
theoretical 8547 metres, which Dr. Lepsius calculated by his interpretatory
system of the Khorsabad text; in reality, these 8547m cannot be employed
by any surveyor of the spot itself, and the perimeter of the Khorsabad
walls bears out only 6790 metres.
An English writer, M. Flinders Petrie, has arrived at the same valua-
tion of the Assyrian cubit in his valuable work on Inductive Metrologi/,
1 The wall is the dur, that is, this outer rampart,
24 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
extremities of each side, near the angles of the circumvalla-
tion,1 I opened 8 gates in the direction of the four cardinal
points.
SAMAS" makes my designs successful, BIN affords me
abundance ; I have named the large gates of the East the
gates of SAMAS and of BIN.
BEL-EL lays the foundation of my city, MYLITTA TAAUTH
grinds the painting stone in his bosom ; I have given the
names of BEL-EL and of MYLITTA TAAUTH to the large
gates of the North.
ANU executes the works of my hand, ISHTAR excites the
men ; I have named the large gates of the West, the gates of
ANU, and of ISHTAR.
HEA arranges the marriages,3 the Queen of the gods
presides over child-birth ; I have dedicated the large
gates of the South4 to HEA and to the Queen of the
gods.
ASSUR lengthens the years of the kings he has appointed,
he protects the armies of the enclosure of the town.
NINIP, who lays the foundation stone, fortifies its rampart5 to
distant days.
1 The words ina sili kilallan, a most difficult term, may signify " in the
flank of the two angle branches ; " sili is literally " ribs."
2 The Sun.
3 This explanation of naqli, " to perforate," is possible, but it may have
here a double sense, because naqbi signifies also the perforation of the
earth, "a canal."
4 I accept provisionally the mutual change of North and South, on
the authority of the Talmud passages: but the difficulty seems very
great.
5 The Assyrians always distinguish the outer bulwark (dur} from the
inner, or special, rampart (salhii). The measures are expressly given for
the dur.
BULL INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 25
The four dominions,1 each of different language, the
people exempt from all taxes living on the mountains and in
the plains which the SUN, the light of the gods, the master
of the spheres, illuminates, I have subdued them, in the
remembrance of ASSUR my god, under the realm of my
sibirr ;* I caused them to dwell separately, and I established
them there. The men of Assyria, acquainted with all the
sciences, I had confided to sages and learned men,3 for
the instruction of right and for the adoration of their god
and their king. I separated them from the sibir of the
town and from my Palaces.
In the month of Tisri 4 I worshipped the great gods who
inhabit Assyria, and I made the inauguration thereof when I
had taxed the kings of the rising sun and of the setting sun
in gold, in silver, and in slaves, to increase the treasures of
these Palaces by their munificent offerings. O ye gods who
inhabit this town may all the work of my hands be aug-
mented! May they in their presence dedicate to eternity
the inhabitant of these regions and the duration of my
victorious reign.
But he who spoils the works of my hand, who effaces my
1 The four dominions are without Akkad, situated in the middle,
Guti to the North, Hubur to the South, Elam to the East, Akharri to the
West.
* The sense of the sibirr is very obscure.
3 "Astronomers." The word sapir seems to mean "learned man,
explainer," but at first, the explainer of the celestial movements, "astro-
nomer."
4 This quite agrees with the statement in an eponymic tablet (#'". A. 1.
II., pi. 69), that Dur-Sarkin was inaugurated the 22nd of TisVi, of
Sa-Assur-dubbu (Oct., B.C. 706). In the next spring, 6th of lyar (May,
B.C. 705), were finished the walls of the new city. This fact is not stated
in the Sargon texts; for the king survived this fact only 15 months.
He was followed on the throne by his son Sennacherib in August,
B.C. 704.
26 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
sculptures, who takes away the vessels containing my riches,
who distributes my treasures ; may ASSUR, BIN, and the
great gods who inhabit this town destroy his name and his
race in his country, may they let him be treated as an
insurgent by those who rebel against him !
THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE HAREM
OF KHORSABAD.
TRANSLATED BY
PROF. DR. JULIUS OPPERT.
'"THESE two inscriptions, found in 1852 by Victor
Place at Khorsabad, have been saved by myself
from destruction and oblivion. They were lost in the
disaster of the French expedition in 1855; the two
casts were brought by me to Paris, and published in
1858 in the Expedition de Mesopotamia, Vol. L, p. 333,
and following.
I correct here, in this English translation, some
faults which I committed twenty years ago; but I
nevertheless maintain now, in 1878, the general sense
as it was pointed out in my first publications.
The two texts are without analogy in their kind ;
the two prayers addressed one to Ninip-Samdan,1 the
1 Or, "Simdannu," which is the correct reading.
28 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Assyrian Hercules, and the other to Hea, the god of
generation, point out, in their wishes, the matters
which were granted by the two gods. One, the
divinity of force, is implored to destroy the enemies,
the other, the god of fertility, is expected to grant
offspring to the kingly adorer.
29
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE HAREM OF SARGON.
I.
PRAYER OF SARGON TO NINIP.
NiNip,1 Lord of strong actions, which make his glory,
increase the majesty to SARGON, King of the legions, King
of Assyria, Viceroy of Babylon, King of Sumer and Accad,
the builder of this thalamus. Let him attain old age,1 may
his splendour be increased seven times. In the middle of
the Zenith and the Asar* (Paradise) put his reign. Direct
the course of his stallions,4 lead to its end his bravery, grant
to him the mightiness without equal, the subjection of his
servants ; cause his weapons to attain their aim ; may he
destroy his enemies.
II.
PRAYER OF SARGON TO HEA.
HEA, Lord of the mysteries, framer, increase the family
to SARGON, King of the legions, King of Assyria, Viceroy
1 The name is really Samdan, as said Berosus, who knew about cunei-
forms more than any of us may claim to do. Against all opposition of
M. Delitzsch, I maintain my former reading of Sin-dan-nu, as the sign
named gitrusii, has the values of tan, dan, and sin.
Sil'utu suksidsii, in Assyrian.
3 The Zenith maybe the sense; it is domus verticis. The Assyrian name
of the Zenith was nappakhtu, from napakh, "to be in the Zenith;" not
" to dawn," as almost all scholars translated it.
4 Certainly a running animal.
30 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
of Babylon, King of Sumer and Accad, the builder of the
thalamus. Let him open thy canals/ fecundate his love,
and excite his pride and his joy.2 Dazzle his look, stop
the open ear of the enamoured.3 Fix his destiny, make
perfect his work : may he obtain offspring.
1 It may be an allusion to the double character of Hea, as god of
wedding and god of the waters.
2 This very difficult passage had been doubtfully rendered by me in
1858, I saw there indications of spots produced by the painting of the
figure. I believe this now proposed translation to be more correct.
3 Sumkira tamirtus uzne rapsute hasisu palka. There may be no doubt
about the sense ; M. Renan once opposed the rather luxurious sense of
this text, but I give the idea of Sargon, and not my own.
TEXTS OF THE
FOUNDATION STONE OF KHORSABAD.
TRANSLATED BY
PROF. DR. JULIUS OPPERT.
IQOTTA'S successor in the Khorsabad excavations,
the late Victor Place, found in 1853, at the very
interior part of the construction, a large stone chest,
which enclosed several inscribed plates in various
materials. In this only extant specimen of an Assy-
rian foundation stone were found one little golden
tablet, one of silver, and others of copper, lead, and
tin ; a sixth text was engraved on alabaster, and the
seventh document was written on the chest itself.
Only four of these tablets have survived the disaster
which caused the almost complete loss of the two
French collections gathered by the Expedition to
Mesopotamia, and by the Nineveh explorers. The
lead tablet being too heavy had been sent with the
kelek which foundered in the Tigris, and this fate was
also reserved for the stone inscription and the enclosure
case. By an unpardonable negligence, not even casts
had been taken from the originals sent away with the
32 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
great bulk of huge sculptures ; they had been packed
up and sent away when the author of this translation
passed through Nineveh in March 1854. I therefore
could not copy them like the Harem inscriptions,
which are now only preserved by my copies of the
inscriptions from the casts at Khorsabad.
This loss is the more to be regretted as these very
tablets contain several expressions which are not
repeated in similar texts; moreover, one of 'those
preserved, the copper document, is very far from
being thoroughly legible ; a great deal of the text is
destroyed by verdigris, but as besides that circum-
stance the parts which are not defaced contain merely
repetitions of known passages, I have thought it not
useful to reproduce it now.
Of the three foundation tablets which I give here
two have already been translated in French in my
Doiir-Sarkayan ; the second, on silver, the most
important one, has only been published with the text,
transliteration, and Latin translation ; but there also
the oxidation of the silver had rendered their reading
most difficult, and the interpretation was hitherto rather
faulty and defective. It is now for the first time
properly translated into a European language.
33
GOLDEN TABLET.
PALACE of SARGON,' the Mandatary of BEL, the Lieutenant
of ASSUR, the great King, the mighty King, King of the
world, King of Assyria, who reigned from the two be-
ginnings unto the two ends of the four celestial points;' he
appointed satraps over the lands.
In these days I built, after my pleasure, a town near
Nineveh, in the country which borders the mountains. I
gave it the name of Dur-Sarkin.
I distributed in its interior temples to HEA, SIN, SAMAS,*
BEN, NINIP, the sculptures dedicated to their great divinity.
HEA,+ builder of all edifices,5 had them made, and the
people raised altars.
I constructed palaces covered with skin, sandal wood,
1 The tablet is almost three inches long, and two inches wide; it weighs
2 gr. almost three drams, Troy, and has a value of £25.
2 This passage signifies from East to West, and from South to North.
It has not been remarked, I think, that the an represents the dual in the
constructive case.
3 The sun.
4 God of all holy art.
5 This style is peculiar to this tablet, the others have the usual manner
of rendering the sense.
VOL. XI. 4
34 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
ebony, cedar, tamarisk, pine, cypress, cypress samal, and
wood of pistachio tree.
I made a spiral staircase in the interior of the doors, and
I placed at the upper part joists of pine and of cypress.
On tablets of gold, silver, copper, lead, tin,1 marble, and
alabaster2, I wrote the glory of my name, and I put them
into the foundations.
1 The tin is expressed by the ideogram A-BAR (parakku), which, I
believe, is quite different from the Chaldaic. The word is expressed by
the word qizasaddir, the Sanscrit kastira, the Greek kassiteron. The
Assyrian word could be read " table-white-red," by decomposing it into
monograms, but this seems to be merely fortuitous.
2 As the case enclosing these tablets was of gypsum alabaster, this
mineral is of course expressed by the ideogram TAK-IZ-SIR-GAL, "the stone
of the great light." TAK-ZA-SAT is the " white stone," that is, " marble."
M. Delitzsch has translated erroneously this ideogram by " crystal."
M. Place did not mention formerly the marble tablet, which was found
broken and probably thrown away; he recollected it only after my
insisting upon the statement of the inscription. But this false account had
caused me to commit a singular mistake, in translating in the beginning
" marble " by " copper," and " alabaster " by " lead ! "
With respect to the other materials mentioned in this text and in almost
all Sargon inscriptions, I need not observe that some of them are by no
means quite sure. What is, for instance, the sense of the ka-am-si, which
is always put in the first place, before the different species of timber ? It
must be something more important than a merely ornamental substance,
but is certainly a very necessary one. Am-si seems to be either " buffalo"
or "boar," but there are also sea-am si; and long since I believed the term
to be identical with the biblical taklmsh, perhaps the skin of a cetaceum,
as sealskin, or narvalskin, employed in Assyria as in Judaea. At any
rate, it cannot possibly be "bull's horn" as Mr. Houghton supposed it to
be ; bull's horns never occupied a prominent position in the construction of
palaces.
The inscribed chest was, according to M. Place, om2S, om36, om43, that
is, i U, i'/4 U, i1 /« U, or V,, 5/s and 3/4 of a cubit. That would speak
against Professor Lepsius' division of a cubit into three double hands, and
the hand into 5 fingers, and would rather agree with Smith's and my own
division of the U into 60 parts. According to our reckoning, it would be, 60,
THE FOUNDATION STONE OF KHORSABAD. 35
Whoever alters the works of my hand, whoever plunders
my treasure, may ASSUR, the great Lord, exterminate in this
country, his name and his race !
75 and 90 parts; or, according to Dr. Lepsius, 15, i83/4 and 22 JA fingers.
The calculation, of course, would be the same ; but in the system of Dr.
Lepsius we ought to admit fractions of the smallest division, which does
not seem admissible.
36 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
TABLET OF SILVER.
Palace of SARGON, the Mandatary of BEL, the Lieutenant
of ASSUR, the mighty King, the King of Assyria, the King
who reigned from the two beginnings unto the two ends of
the four celestial points, who appointed satraps over the
lands.
In these days, after the will of my heart, I made a town,
in the neighbourhood of Nineveh, in the country which
borders the mountains. I gave it the name of Dur-Sarkin.
I chose in its interior dwellingplaces for HEA, SIN, SAMAS,
BEN, NINIP, the great gods, my lords ; I had the statues of
their great divinities made finely, and I had the altars
erected.
I made halls covered with (sea-calf) skins, with sandal
wood, ebony, cedar, tamarisk, pine, cypress samal, wood
of the pistachio tree, in the palace, and with a spiral
staircase like those of Syria,1 I adorned its doors. The
beasts of the mountains, of the sea, of the river, very con-
spicuously I painted upon the vaults (niplatti)* Within
them I laid deeply their entrances. The god SIN shone on
the top and shadowed the battlements,3 and I disposed
symmetrically in their doors beams of cedar and cypress,
and doors of sandal wood and ebony.
I erected its4 mighty walls, like rocks of granite. I
1 Hatti.
8 This and the following passages, are peculiar to this inscription,
which, unfortunately, is not in all parts very distinct. They have not been
interpreted in my Latin version, and in some points the English one may
be doubtful.
3 Possible, but not sure. 4 The palace's.
THE FOUNDATION STONE OF KHORSABAD.
37
measured a surface of 10 aruras,1 and surrounding it, I
1 This statement of the silver tablet is of a highly important value. It
is the sole passage giving directly a superficial calculation. The whole
surface of the royal castle of Sargon is valuated at ten aruras (great U),
and this capital statement affords us the clue to the very interesting system
of Assyrian survey.
The castle represents a symmetrical rectangular octagon; six angles
have 90° each, and the two others 270°. It is formed by two rectangles
joined together, and, according to Place's measurings, giving this shape :
A B
237 metres, 259 yards
151 „ 165
AB, N.W. front
AC and BD
EC and DF
EG and FH
GH, S.E. back side
Total depth (15 1 + 191) 343
Total circumference . 1316
39
191
316
43
209
346
374
1439
D:
All these figures can be expressed by exact numbers in Assyrian cubits
and feet. Moreover, all the numbers of cubits are divisible by 12, and all
the feet numbers by 20 ; we can therefore reduce the numbers to unities of
double sa, fathoms (of 6 cubits each), which we shall name pole. We have
therefore :
AB .... 432 cubits
AC and BD . . 276
EC and DF
EG and FH
GH . . .
Total depth .
72
343
576
624
2400
36 poles
23 »
6 „
29 „
48 „
52 „
200
720 feet
460 ,,
120 „
580 „
960 „
IC4O „
Total circumference . 2400 „ 4000 „
The circumference is just the double of 48 and 52, viz., 100 poles. The
surface is altogether :
The smaller, the sculptural part, ABCD 36 x 23 = 838 square poles.
The larger part, out-house . . . 48 x 29 = 1392 „
Total surface .... 2220 „
These 2220 square poles are equal to 319,680 square cubits, SSS,ooo
square feet. That is also given by Place's statement of 9, 6 hectares, exactly
96 1 a 76, or 23 acres, three quarters, English.
We must remember here that the entire surface of the town of Khorsabad
was an area of 9,000,000 and 555,000 square cubits. We have also here the
element of 37; the additional town rectangle is to the castle as 125 to 72.
Here also the ell of 37 Assyrian inches (3 feet plus i inch) enters into the
calculation.
The great U, which we name arura, is therefore a surface of 96 acres, or
38 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
distributed in 180 tiri1 its battlements.
almost 2 acres and i rood and a half. It is composed of 222 square poles,
or the sum of three squares, one of 14 poles, another of 5 poles, and a third
of i pole each side. (i42 + 5^ + i = 222.) The arura, equivalent to
31,968 square cubits, or 88,800 square feet, was therefore formed of an
almost square-like rectangle of 296 feet, or 96 ells one side and 96 ells plus
4 feet the other side; that is, 300 feet. In the formation of this almost
quadrate figure we have the great square of 96 ells, then three smaller
regular squares, each side of which is 32, 12, and 4 feet, viz.:
Great square of 96 ells, 296 feet . 87616 square feet
Small square of 32 feet . . . 1024 „
12 „ ... 144
» » 4 „. . . . 16
Total of the arura . . SSSoo „
The construction of Khorsabad offered another problem to be resolved.
The circumference ought to be 200 poles, and the surface 10 aruras. The
Assyrian engineers took formerly the large back side of 48 poles, and then
they fixed the monumental front at 36 poles. To gain a circumference of
200 poles, they ought to give to the entire edifice the depth of 52 (100 — 48)
poles. The question was how to divide 52 into two unequal parts, as to
obtain for the whole surface 2220 square poles. To that purpose they
calculated first the central diagram, 36 x 52 = 1872, and divided the
remainder, 348, into 12 (48 — 36) parts; they added therefore on both
sides a rectangle, each 6 wide and 29 long. This is the geometrical
resolution of the equation which we to-day would form algebraically :
x + y - 52, 480: + 36^ = 2220
consequently: 363: + 3677 = 1872
~^x = 348
x =29
y m =23
As all the measures are to be verified by Place's measurings, under-
taken of course without any arithmetical predilection, they finally decide
the matter, and they speak against the opinions of Dr. Lepsius. As all the
figures, and especially the last, I3i6m, correspond to a round number, the
values obtained by the statements of this text, are entirely confirmed by
the ruins themselves. It is in English measures :
i Assyrian inch 1-0797 inches i Assyrian cubit . 21.5944 inches
i „ span 10.7972 „ i „ fathom 129.5666 „
i „ foot 12.9567 „ i „ pole 259.1333 „
1 The word tiri is obscure, perhaps the number of rooms enclosed in
the palace. Ordinarily the word tahlub signifies the uppermost part of
edifices. The text is very badly rendered in my Daur-Sarkayan ; it runs
thus : 10 U raluti uhallir-va eli 3 a-an us tiri tahlubi-siinu aksur.
THE FOUNDATION STONE OF KHORSABAD. 39
I wrote on tablets of gold, silver, copper, tin, lead,
marble, and alabaster, the glory of my name, and I put
them into the foundations.
May the King who will succeed me restore (this palace)
if it falls into ruins, may he write his tablets, may he place
them aside of my tablets.
Then ASSUR will listen to his prayers. Whosoever alters
the works of my hand, whoever plunders my treasures, may
ASSUR, the great lord, exterminate in this country his name
and his race !
40 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
TIN TABLET.
Palace of SARGON,' Mandatary of BEL, Lieutenant of
ASSUR, the great King, the mighty King, King of the
legions, King of Assyria, the King who governed from the
two beginnings unto the two ends of the four celestial points,
he appointed satraps over the lands.
In these days I built, after my good pleasure, in the
country which borders the mountains, near Nineveh, a town.
I gave it the name of Dur-Sarkin. I chose places for the
dwellings of the gods SIN, SAMAS, BEN, NINIP.
I built palaces covered with skin, sandal wood, ebony,
tamarisk, cedar, cypress.
On tablets of gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, marble, and
alabaster, I have written the glory of my name, and I have
put them into the foundations.
May the King who will succeed me, re-establish this
palace, if it will fall into ruins, may he write his tablets, and
place them aside of mine. Then ASSUR will grant his
prayer !
1 This tablet is pretty well preserved ; but the tin has been entirely
oxydised, and could only be acknowledged as such by the late Due de
Luynes, who also found some traces of antimony in the material. The
tablet is small ; therefore it may be presumed that the matter was con-
sidered as rather precious.
The text does not offer any subject for discussion ; the only result of it
was to make known the value of the ideogram nu-ap, which is here
replaced by the word patesi, "vicar; " it was the title of the early Assyrian
princes.
BABYLONIAN LEGENDS
FOUND AT KHORSABAD.
TRANSLATED BY
PROF. DR. JULIUS OPPERT.
r~THE following short legends were discovered by
Victor Place during his excavations at Khorsabad.
Of Babylonian origin, they were probably transported
to Dur-Sarkin in B.C. 709, when Sargon had become
king of Babylon, after the retreat of Merodach-
Baladan, B.C. 721-709.
The short legends with female names, nearly a
dozen in all, were discovered in one heap ; they are
little clay olives, with a hole in the uppermost part to
bind them together. They are all dated from the
month of Sebat, and descend to the twelfth year of
Merodach-Baladan, February, B.C. 709 (9,292), that is,
to the end of that king's reign.
These olives were, very probably, commemorative
documents in connection with that Babylonian custom
mentioned by Herodotus (I., 199), according to
which every woman was obliged to deliver herself to
a stranger, once in her life, in the sanctuary and for
42 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
the honour of Mylitta. The woman had not the right
to refuse either the person or the money he gave her ;
and it is probable that these olives were presented to
the temple by the men we spoke of.
The inscriptions are important for the chronology
of the reign of Merodach-Baladan, and are quite
consistent with the dates handed down to us by the
Almagest, and the so-called Canon of Ptolemy. The
epoch of the reign of Merodach-Baladan is February
20, Julian, February 12, Gregorian, B.C. 721 (9,280);
the commencement of the reign of Arkeanus, or
Sargon, is February 17 Julian, February 9 Gregorian,
B.C. 712 (9,292).
The cone with the legend of the king Ben-habal-
iddin, written in archaic characters, is curious, as it is
the only trace we have of the monarch who con-
structed the inner wall of Nipur.
These inscriptions have been published in my
Dour-Sarkayan, Paris, 1870.
43
BABYLONIAN LEGENDS.
I. Short inscriptions of the reign of Merodach-
Baladan, king of Babylon (B.C. 720-709).
1 MANNUTAMMAT,1 whom acquired BAHIT of Alsi, the . .
day of the month Sebat, the Qth year of MERODACH-
BALADAN, King of Babylon.
2 BiNiT-Eou,2 whom acquired HAMKAN, in the month of
Sebat, the loth year of MERODACH-BALADAN, King of
Babylon.
3 HALALAT, whom, acquired MARNARIKH, in the month
of Sebat, the nth year of MERODACH-BALADAN, King of
Babylon.
4 BEL-HAIL,3 whom, acquired MARNARIH, in the month of
1 This name signifies, "Who is (the) pious (female) ?" The day of the
month is difficult to be fixed with certainty.
" The name of Binit-Edu or Binit-Ekin, is "Daughter of Edu." In my
book, p. 27, there is a misprint in the Assyrian text, not in the Latin and
French translations; the two angles are faulty, as there should be only one.
The original is in my possession, and the inscription is only known from
my work. Mistaking this inscription as being in the Louvre, Mr. Boscawen
thought that he had discovered a date of the twentieth year of Merodach-
Baladan, but the original olive being in my possession I am able to certify
that the document only presents the date "ten," and therefore any
chronological scheme based upon the assumed reading " twenty," must
fall to the ground.
3 Halalat and Bel-hail are also names of females. Bel-hail is a female
name, it signifies, " Bel is strong." A man, the father of Hammurabi, is
called Ummu-banit, "Mater (dea) est generatrix;" and the Biblical name
Abi-gail signifies, "My father is rejoicing."
44 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Sebat, the loth year of MERODACH-BALADAN, King of
Babylon.
II. Clay cone. Khorsabad.
BENBALADAN (BENHABALIDDIN),' King of Babylon, has
constructed Nivit-Marduk,2 the interior wall, the wall of
Nipur, in honour of BEL his lord.
1 The name of Ben-habal-iddin signifies, "Ben, gave a son." In this
instance it is entirely written with phonetic characters. It might not be
superfluous to explain the god's name which has been read in very
different ways during thirty years. The only sure indication we have about
its pronunciation is the name of the Syrian king mentioned in the Bible,
and whose name is Ben-Hadad or Ben-Hadar. The Assyrian texts
name him AN-iM-idri. The god in question has been named Vul, Hu;
finally, but erroneously, Dr. Delitzsch called him, following Professor
Sayce, Raman. But as the god is also expressed by the simple angle, u,
which signifies I'eni, Sumerian for lei, "master," we have thus an
evidence which confirms the Biblical name Benhadar, and the pronuncia-
tion Eeiii proposed for that divinity.
2 " Dwelling of Merodach."
45
NEBBI YUNUS
INSCRIPTION OF SENNACHERIB.
(FROM A MEMORIAL SLAB FOUND AT NINEVEH.)
TRANSLATED BY
ERNEST A. BUDGE.
slab from which this inscription is copied is
now in the Imperial Museum at Constantinople, and
was found during the excavations undertaken by
the Turkish Government. It is generally known as
the Nebbi Yunus Inscription of Sennacherib. The
printed text is found in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of
Western Asia, Vol. I., pi. 43, 44. Portions of the first
six lines of the right hand corner are restored from
other inscriptions, but parts of the lines in the lower
right hand corner are defaced. The father of Sen-
nacherib (Sargon) being a warlike king, and carrying
46 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
victory wherever he went, it is not surprising to find
Sennacherib following so closely in his steps. Sargon
built the city of Dur-Sargina (Khorsabad), and also
temples, and ruled with great energy. Sennacherib
renewed and carried on the wars which his father had
begun, but he showed less power of management.
The expeditions of Sennacherib were great, as also
were his conquests, and his palaces were built after
the grand style of his father. His inscriptions are,
however, interesting in the extreme, for many of
them mention Hezekiah, and the siege of his city
Jerusalem. Nothing is recorded in the inscriptions
of the defeat mentioned in the Bible, but it has been
said1 that about B.C. 690 the warlike expeditions
cease, while the Elamites ravaged the southern border
of Assyria without check, which they would hardly
have dared to do when Sennacherib was powerful.
He was haughty and proud, as may be seen by the
taunt of 2 Kings xviii. 33-35. The accounts given
by the inscriptions seem to afford a reason for
his cruel death, in the temple of Nisroch.2 The
1 Smith's Assyria, p. 125.
2 In Sennacherib's inscription on a slab, he says: "By the opened ears
which the lord Nisroch has conferred upon me."
NEBBI YUNUS INSCRIPTION. 47
inscriptions show that he conquered among other
places and nations, Babylon, the Kassi, Ellippi,
the coast of Phoenicia, many parts of Palestine,
he defeated the Egyptian army at Eltekeh,1 he
captured 46 of the cities of Hezekiah,3 and
"200,150 men, small and great,"3 some cities of
Philistia,4 Elamite cities on the Persian Gulf, the
regions around Lake Van, and very many cities
which are mentioned in his annals. He had very
great trouble with Suzub, son of Gaghul, but at last
conquered him. It is noticeable that whenever the
least opportunity occurred to the neighbouring and
tributary tribes to conspire with one another against
Sennacherib, or to openly rebel, they did so, and he
1 The NEFta of Josh. xix. 44.
9 Jr. A. I. I., 39, 13.
3 W. A. I. I., 39, 17.
4 Ashdod ("'i'TOtf) now village of Esdud, "a. castle;" one of the five
cities of the Philistines; a fortress of F'alestine on the borders of
Palestine and Egypt; this city was the inheritance of the tribe of Judah,
see Josh. xv. 47. Amgurrunna (Ekron, 1^1$) no\v Akir; also of the five
cities of the Philistines in the north, assigned to the tribe of Judah,
Josh. xv. 45 ; and the Danites, Josh. xix. 43. Gaza (nW), situated at south
of Palestine, Gen. x. 19, and a city of Philistia, Josh. xi. 22, still retains
its name, W. A. I. I., 39, 24-26; Ascelon fl^$**) is now represented by
the little Arab village of Askiilan, standing amid the ruins of ancient city.
IV. A. I. I., 38, 58.
48 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
appears to have carried on almost continual warfare
with the Elamites and Babylonians, in which the petty
tribes joined with great eagerness. The inscriptions
of Sennacherib which have come down to us
are very fine, valuable, and numerous, for they
offer many variant passages of great philological
importance.
49
NEBBI YUNUS
INSCRIPTION OF SENNACHERIB.
COLUMN I.
1 THE palace of SENNACHERIB, the great King, the
strong King, King of nations, King of the land of
Assyria, King of the four regions,
2 servant of the great gods, Sovereign, the Judge, the
King, the Overseer, the Shepherd of the people,
3 Protector of men (nations) vast I am. AssuR,1 Father
of the gods, among all Kings
4 firmly has raised me, and over all that dwell in the
countries he caused to increase my weapons, he gave
5 the sceptre of uprightness, the extender of frontiers, a
sword unyielding for the slaughter of the enemy,
6 he hath caused to hold my feet in the battle of the
1 In JJr. A. I. III., 66, 23, it is said, "Assur god of judges." The title
Assur extended itself from the city to the surrounding country, and
became abstracted into a deity, the patron and eponyme of Assyria. The
power of the later Assyrian F.mpire was expressed by making this god
the head of the Pantheon and the father of the three originally supreme
gods, Anu, Bel, and Hea. Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch., Vol. II., p. 245.
VOL. XI. 5
50 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
field MARDUK-PAL-IDINNA/ King of the land of Gan-
dimiyas.2
7 The Chaldaens and Aramaeans with the army of Elam his
help like corn I swept. He,
8 to the land of the sea alone fled, and the gods and his
spoil with the attendants of his fathers
9 preceding, from within the great land he brought out,
- and the men within the ships
10 he caused to ascend and to the city Nagiti,3 which is
beyond the sea, he crossed and in that place
1 1 he took up his abode. The whole of his land I had
taken, and like spoil his cities I threw down, dug up,
1 2 with fire I burnt ; I had taken the city Khigilimu, and
the land of the Yasubigallai 4 of the land of Ellippi 5
1 Merodach-Baladan (pN?a T™"10)' i.e., " Merodach gave a son." He is
called the "son of Yacin," also "King of Chaldsea," in Botta, 151 ; and
say tamti, " King of the sea," W. A. I. II., 67, 26. A Chaldaean. He held a
powerful castle near the Euphrates, called Dur- Yacin (the "fortress of
Yacin "), he marched to Babylon B.C. 722, and proclaimed himself king of
Babylon B.C. 712. He sent an embassy to Hezekiah king of Judah, this
was unsuccessful. Afterwards he retreated to Ikbi-Bel. He was an enemy
of Sargon, who says of him in the Khorsabad Inscription, 1. 38, " he did
not revere the memory of the gods, he refused to send tribute, he made
alliance with Khumbanigas king of Elam, he caused the countries of
Sumer and Accad to rebel," and then he tells how utterly he (Sargon)
defeated him. Sargon marched against Merodach-Baladan B.C. 709;
Sennacherib B.C. 700. See his defeat described in W. A. 1. III., 12, 4.
* Also written Car-duniyas (W. A, I. II., 65, i), "the fortress of
Duniyas," seems to have been Lower Chaldsea. It was also called
Gun-duni (Smith's Assurbanipal, p. 183), "the enclosure of Duni," which
has been compared with the Biblical Gan Aiden (\~V?. ]l, Gen. iii. 24), or
Garden of Eden, by Sir H. C. Rawlinson (see Prof. Sayce, Synchronous
History, p. 4).
3 An Elamite city on the Persian Gulf.
4 A race of people inhabiting' the mountainous region between Assyria
and Persia.
5 This district contained the cities of Zizirtu, Kummahu and Beth-Barra.
NEBBI YUNUS INSCRIPTION. 51
13 I overran and destroyed its men. Of LULIE,' King of
the city of Zidon,2 I took away his kingdom.
14 TUBAHLI upon his throne I caused to sit, and tribute
and my lordship upon him (I placed).
15 I overran the wide district of the land of Judea,
HEZEKIAH 3 its King did wickedness,
1 6 the men of the city of the Tukharrai inhabiting the
mountains difficult, with my weapons I caused to slay.
The city Uccu 4
17 with the whole of its men like a heap of corn I
destroyed, the men of the land of Cilicia 5 inhabiting
1 8 the forests I overthrew with my weapons, their cities I
threw down, dug up, with fire I burnt.
19 The city Tel-garimmu which is on the border of the land
of Tabali I conquered, and I turned to ruins, the city
Nagitu,
20 the city of Nagitu-dihbina, the land of Khilmu, the
land of Nelatu, the land of Khupapanu, the districts
2 1 of the King of Elam, which beyond the sea are situated
their site of which the men
22 of the land of Beth-Yacin6 before my strong weapons,
the gods of their land in their shrines
23 assembled, the sea they crossed and they dwelt in the
midst of them, in the ships of the land of Syria,
1 See W. A. I. I., 38, 35. The Elulaeus of classical authors (Fox Talbot).
2 rT?, more fully ™1 jiTS, « Tsidon the great," Josh. xi. 8, an ancient
city of the Phoenicians.
3 See W, A. I. I., 38, 72 ; 39, 11,12; 12, 27.
4 Modern Accho, a maritime city in the tribe of Asher, Judges i. 31
(Heb. i32), now called St. Jean iVAcre.
5 A maritime province in the South-east of Asia Minor.
6 A fortified city near the Persian Gulf.
52 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
24 which in the city of Nineveh and the city Tel-Barsip r
they had made, the sea then I crossed, the cities which
(were) within
25 those districts I took, and with fire I burnt The men
of the land of Beth-Yacin and their gods,
26 with the people of the King of the land of Elam I
carried off, and to the land of Assyria I sent.
27 Afterwards the Babylonians who with MERODACH-
BALADAN had gone forth, they fled *
28 King of the land of Elam, to Assyria they went, and
SUZUB 3 son of GAGHUL, upon the throne of royalty
29 over them I caused to sit, and soldiers, sceptre, chariots,
horses, the collection of my kingship against
30 the King of the land of Elam I urged on. The army
numerous with his son they slew and he turned afterwards.
31 They to Nineveh passed, the Sun god of Senkereh,4
goddess of Bubesi, Lady of Erech, the goddess NANA
32 the goddess USURA-AMATSA, the goddess BILAT-BALADHI,
the god BIDINNAV, the god KASSITU, the god NERGAL,
the gods inhabiting
33 Erech,5 with their goods, their spoil which (was) in-
calculable they spoiled. At their return
1 Biradjik, a city on the Euphrates opposite Carchemish, the modern
Jerablus. Biradjik represents the " Birtu of the Aramaeans" of the
Assyrian inscriptions. See Smith's Babylonia, p. 129.
2 Lacuna.
3 A Chaldean chief who defied the Assyrian pov/er, defeated by Senna-
cherib B.C. 700 at the city of Bittu in the marshes. Hr. A. J. I., 39, 45, he
is said to have been "to the sovereignty of Sumer and Accad restored;", in
IV. A. I. I., 40, 26, 27, again defeated, and afterwards made king- of
Babylon, W. A. I. I., 41, 41, but again defeated.
4 Or Larsa, a city where a celebrated library existed.
5 Warka. Compare this with the boast in 2 King's xix. 33: " Hath any of
the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king
of Assyria ? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad ? Where are
NEBBI YUNUS INSCRIPTION. 53
34 SUZUB, King of Babylon in the battle field his life he
took, their hands (in) fetters
35 (and) bonds placed him, and to my presence they
brought him in the great gate in the midst of the city
Nineveh.
36 I bound him firmly. The King of Elam, who (for) the
help of the Babylonians had come,
37 to his land then I went. The strong cities, his house
of treasures, and the small cities which depended upon
them,
38 toward the lowlands of the land of Bit-bunakhi, I
approached, I took, I spoiled their spoil, I threw down,
39 I captured, with fire I burnt. The King of Elam of
the capture of his cities heard and fear overwhelmed
him.
40 The remainder of the men of his land for defence I
caused to ascend. He the city Madaktu,1 the city of his
royalty
41 forsook, and to the city of Khandala which is within the
mountains, directed (set) his face
42 to the city Madakhtu, the city of his royalty an expedition
the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivah ? Have they delivered Samaria
out of mine hand ?"
In ffr. A. I. III., 66, a list of several hundred gods is given with their
attributes. The tablet is divided into groups, the last lines of the group
tell the temples and the cities which the gods were to inhabit, thus:
" The gods of the temple of Gu-la
of the city of Assur,
The gods of the temple of Marduk (Merodach)
of the city of Assur,
The gods of the temple of Anu
(and) Rimmon of the city of Assur,
The gods of the temple of Sin (Moon-god) (and) Shamas (Sun-god)
of the city of Assur."
1 The capital of Elam.
54 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
I commanded, the month Thebet,1 a strong (heavy) storm
took place and,
43 storm unceasing came and snow, torrents the clefts of
the mountains filled. I turned, and
44 to the land of Assyria I took the road, afterwards the
Kings of the land of Elam, Parthia, Susiania,
45 the land Pasiri, the land Ellippi, the whole of the land
of Chaldrea, the Aramaeans, the whole of them an assembly
great
46 he gathered with him, with the King of Babylon to each
other they approached, and to make
47 battle against me they had come. In the power of
ASSUR, the lord, in the neighbourhood of the city
Khalulina 3
48 with him I fought, their defeat I established, 150,000 of
their men of war with my weapons
49 I slew, chariots, wagons, tents of their royalty I took
away from them.
50 Their great men with NEBO-ZACIR-ISCUN,S son of MERO-
DACH-BALADAN who were in chariots of silver
1 Thebet (^?P), the tenth month, December. This month among- the
Assyrians was dedicated to PAP-SUCCAL, the messenger of Anu and Istar,
see W. A. I. IV., 33, 45, the storm mentioned as having- taken place in
this month seems to have caused Sennacherib great inconvenience, he
mentions it again in W. A. 1. I., 40, 75-77.
2 Kha-lu-li-e in W. A. I. I., 41, 47.
3 " Nebo established the memorial." He fought with the Babylonian
army commanded by Suzub and Umman-Menanu, king of Elam at
Khalute B.C. 696, see H' A. I. I., 41, 47. Khalute was a city on the banks
of the Tigris.
NEBBI YUNUS INSCRIPTION. 55
COLUMN II.
51 ' of gold heaped up, swords of gold they
were placed and with
52 'of gold were clasped their feet, them
alive in the midst of battle took
53 my two hands.3 The King of Babylon, and the King
of the land of Elam the violence of my battle over-
whelmed them in the midst
54 of their chariots, they abandoned their banner, alone
they fled away, and their country
55 they left. Behold the palace of Cutalli which (is) within
Nineveh which for the custody of the camp baggage,
56 overseeing of the horses, and laying up his furniture
they caused to make, marching before (me)
57 my fathers, of that palace its mound was not made, and
small (was) its seat (foundation).
58 For the establishment of the horses, the stable was not
built of the basement (from) ancient days
59 its foundation decayed, and was fallen in its roof. That
palace to its whole extent I dug up.
60 like an enclosure, much earth from within I caused to
raise, then I took.
61 Its top I caused to add, the enclosure, of the former
palace I left, and within earth
62 which from (within) I caused to raise, I took. The
mound I caused to fill 200 tipd with my brickwork
63 great to the heights I raised its head, upon that mound
of my palaces
1 Lacunae.
2 A description of the spoil taken is also given in W. A. I. I., 41, 72-76.
56 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
64 I laid down their foundations, the palace of alabaster
(and) cedar like the palace of the land of Syria,
65 and a palace lofty the work of the land of Assyria,
which much excelled in size and largeness for the seat
66 of my kingship I caused to make. Besides to my war
horses, submissive to (my) yoke and overseeing
67 the spoil of enemies much which ASSUR conferred, its
mound was made, the size
68 I caused to increase. In the power lofty of the gods
my lords, the Kings of the land of Phoenicia,1 the whole
of them
69 who to my feet I had caused to submit I urged them on,2
beams of cedar
70 great (from) within the land of Khamaniv they cut
down,3 to Nineveh they had brought and I caused to be
placed over them
71 doors of sherbin (and) liyari wood, (with) bands ot
copper I bound and I hung in their gates
[Line 72 contains a list of various kinds of unknown stones.]
73 favourable and 4 which from below the land
of Nipur5
74 mountains were brought, with white alabaster which in
the city of the Baladai was seen
75 for the colossi (and) bulls I caused to make and I
caused to take. The avenue of them, a spoil of
images
1 The West (MARTU).
3 Two characters occur in the text here, I am unable to read them.
3 Or, "planed."
4 Lacuna.
5 A range of mountains which ran from Lake Van, East to West, to
Asia Minor, the western part is now called the Taurus.
NEBBI YUNUS INSCRIPTION.
57
76 of stone, a floor of cedar wood upon them I raised, and
of the palace of that alabaster
77 I placed its shrines. In my ears uncovered which
conferred the lord of wisdom, HEA/
78 as many heaps of copper which for the needs of my
palaces of Nineveh I had built up.
79 According to the command of the god a storehouse
opposite I built, and copper within it I poured (gathered),
and rich ornament
80 the work of my hands, and bulls of bronze painted, I
raised up.2
8 1 I caused to raise them, among raised figures I raised
high up, I caused to sit and I caused to go,
82 strongly on the great lower embankment, the palace of
alabaster for the greatness of my kingdom
83 of 3 I caused to make its circumference (?)
(and) floor of copper
84 of which their white marble 4 I had thrown down, upon
it I raised, and with planks of cedar wood skilfully
85 as covering I caused to be placed its canopy. The
former palace greatly I caused to enlarge, I caused . . .5
86 I made it great for the admiration of multitude of men,
with fulness I filled it, tribute from the King of the
87 the offering of the land of the Medes remote, who
among the Kings my fathers anybody
1 See IV.A.I. II., 48, 32, where Hea is again said to be Hea bit nimeci
bil khayisi, " Hea lord of wisdom, lord of intelligence or understanding."
In the magical texts, he is " god of the waters," and many other attributes
are given to him, all pointing- out that he was a god of great importance.
His wife is called NIN-CI-GAL (the lady of the mighty country).
* An unknown stone is mentioned here.
3 Various unknown stones are again mentioned.
4 Sissasunu, cf. Heb. nm
5 Lacunae.
58 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
88 had not received their offerings, with wagons, chariots,
89 the King of Babylon, and the King of Chaldsea, which
my hands had taken * without number
90 which I had collected for the treasures of that palace,
' I caused to enter within it.
91 By the command of ASSUR, Father of the gods, and
BELTIS, the Queen ' the palace x
92 with health of flesh (and) joy of heart and reception of
93 tributes may they come, alliance of city with city for
days remote may they establish within it.
94 The divine Bull protecting the lives, the god who
completes may he slay, and his name 'its hands.
[The tablet finishes thus.]
Lacunce.
59
THE ORACLE OF ISTAR OF ARBELA.
TRANSLATED BY
THEOPHILUS GOLDRIDGE PINCHES.
the commencement of Esarhaddon's reign, he
warred, as shown by his annals, in a district called
Khani-rabbe, on the Upper Euphrates. It is not
known against whom he fought, but is generally
supposed that it was against his two brothers,
Adrammelech and Sharezer, who, after having slain
their father, had escaped into Armenia, and now
came with an army to dispossess their younger brother
of the throne of Assyria, on which, during their
absence, the people had seated him. At this time,
evidently to encourage the young king in the
difficult campaign in which he was engaged, the
following addresses, purporting to come from his
60 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
favourite goddess, the goddess of war, Istar of
Arbela, were sent to him.
Of all the goddesses of Assyria, none were in
greater repute than the two Istars : the one, goddess
of love, the " divine queen," or " divine lady," of
Kidmuri, her temple at Nineveh ; and the other,
goddess of war, at Arbela. Originally there was but
one goddess, personifying both love and war, but two
such opposite attributes could not long remain the
characteristics of one goddess, so, gradually becoming
distinct in the popular mind, they became the attri-
butes of two distinct goddesses of the same name,
but of different parentage, Sin being father of the
goddess of love, and Ann father of the goddess of
war.
In the following translation will be found some of
the finest specimens of Assyrian poetry that have
come down to us.
The text is printed in the Cuneiform Inscriptions
of Western Asia, Vol. IV., pi. 68.
6i
THE ORACLE OF ISTAR OF ARBELA.
COLUMN I.
[The beginning of this Column is broken off.]
2 . . . ,
1 .
J vast
, . .' of one half
A
5 . . . .
6 .
, .' by the King of countries
.' fear [not!.9
7 (When) sweeps the wind from my hand, weeping,
8 I will tell him (what) I have not revealed.
9 Thine 'enemy
10 like the gathering-together3 of the month Sivan
1 1 before thy feet descends to do battle.
1 2 The great Lady am I.
13 I (am) ISTAR of Arbela,
14 who with thine enemy
1 5 before thy feet will do battle.
1 6 Let not pass away my word
17 which I speak to thee
1 8 concerning what thou hast not fixed for me.
19 I (am) ISTAR of Arbela,
20 thine enemy I cut off,
2 1 (and) I give to thee. I (am)
1 Lacuna;.
2 The words supplied to make the sense clear are enclosed in paren-
theses, those supplied where the tablet is broken are enclosed in brackets.
3 "Harvest;" Sivan being the harvest month.
62 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
22 I STAR of Arbela.
23 In thy presence,
24 by thy side,
25 I go. Fear not.
26 (When) thou in (thy) heart (art) agitated
27 I in (thy) heart rest
28 lovingly do set.
29 From the mouth of ISTARU-LA-TASIYADH,
30 a daughter of the city of Arbela.
3 1 O King of Assyria, fear not,
32 the enemy of the King of Assyria
33 for a sacrifice I give.
34 ... .* thine offspring
35 ' thy Sod
36 * thy . .'
37 [The great Lady am] I
38 [I am I STAR of] Arbela
39 2 his heart
40 * his . .2
1 " The goddess Istar chastises not." 2 Lacunae.
THE ORACLE OF ISTAR OF ARBELA. 63
COLUMN II.
[Beginning lost.]
1 I heard thee not '
2 In the watch-tower '
3 with tribute '
4 to war afterwards '
5 I know [thy] sighing,
6 thine overwhelmer I cause to come not.
7 From the mouth of 'SINQI-SA-AMUR,'
8 a daughter of the city of Arbela.
9 The head I fix, O ESARHADDON,
10 my King, head of the city of Arbela.
11 From the mouth of RIMUTE-ALLATES
1 2 of the city of Darakhaya
13 across the mountains.
14 Fear not, O ESARHADDON,
15 I (am) BEL* thy strength,
1 6 I will ease
1 7 the beams 5 of thy heart.
1 8 Respect as for thy mother
19 thou hast caused to be shown to me.
20 (Each) of the 60 great gods, my strong ones,
2 1 with his life will guide thee —
1 Lacunae.
2 " See thou her captivity ;" or, " Her captivity I saw."
3 " A wife's love."
4 Istar of Arbela likens herself to the various deities mentioned in the
text.
5 Or, " supports."
64 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
22 the Moon-god in thy right hand, the Sun-god thy left.
23 The 60 great gods as rulers thy lords
24 fix. In the midst strongly thou hast reigned.
25 Upon mankind trust not (but)
26 bend thine eyes
27 upon me, trust to me.
28 I (am) ISTAR of Arbela.
29 ASSUR, thy strong one does speak ;
30 thy littleness I take away from thee.
3 1 Fear not. Glorify me.
32 Let not gather together the enemy
33 who speaks against thee.
34 (Though) I may make an end,
35 verdure I raise, as in former times.
36 I (am) NEBO, the lord of the making of tablets,
37 glorify me.
38 From the mouth of BAYA," a daughter of the city of
Arbela.
1 " Praying-."
THE ORACLE OF ISTAR OF ARBELA.
COLUMN III.
[The beginning of this Column also is lost].
• i
2 he turns ...... l
3 I (am) [ISTAR of Arbela].
4 From the mouth of '
5 of the city of Assur.
6 I (am) ISTAR of [Arbela].
7 O ESARHADDON, King of the country of Assyria,
8 in the city of Assur, the city of Nineveh,
9 the city of Calah, the city of Arbela,
10 long days,
1 1 extended years,
12 to ESARHADDON, my King,
13 I give.
14 (Of) the bounty of thy plentiful gift
15 the lover (am) I,
1 6 thy nurse (and)
1 7 thy guardian 2 (am) I.
1 8 For after days,
19 lasting years,
20 thy throne in heaven (and) earth
21 greatly I have fixed.
22 In a veil of gold
23 in the midst of heaven, in honour.
24 The light which clings to it
25 before ESARHADDON, King of Assyria,
26 I will cause to shine
1 Lacunae.
VOL. XI.
Or, "soldier.'
66 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
2 7 as the crowns of my head,
28 (and) behind him.
29 Fear not, O King,
30 I speak to thee.
31 I have not despised thee.
THE ORACLE OF ISTAR OF ARBELA. 67
COLUMN IV.
[Thine] overwhelmer
2 shall not exist.
3 The river1 with fertility
4 I cause to bless.
5 O ESARHADDON, the son
6 eldest, the son of BELTIS,
7 the beautiful, the warlike, the safe,
8 in my hands
9 thine enemies
10 I handle.
1 1 O ESARHADDON, King of the country of Assyria,
1 2 cutting off (him) who (is) full of shame,
13 striking down (him) who (is) full of pride.
140 ESARHADDON, in the city of Assur,
15 long days,
1 6 extended years,
1 7 I give to thee.
1 8 O ESARHADDON, in the midst of Arbela,
19 thy servant (and) guardian2 (am) I.
20 O ESARHADDON, the eldest son,
2 1 the son of BELTIS,
22 the intelligent,
23 with intelligence
24 I exalt thee [and]
25 strengthen [thee].
26 Because of thy renown
2 7 from heaven vast
28 I descend to thee.
29 To thy right hand,
'The Tigris. 2 Or, "soldier."
68 RECORDS OF 'THE PAST.
30 thy people return.
31 In thy left hand,
32 tribute I will cause [thce to take].
33 [Thy] kingdom above '
34 to endure '
35 above '
[The rest of this Column is lost.]
1 Lacunae.
THE ORACLE OF ISTAR OF ARBELA 69
COLUMN V.
1 From his presence
2 I receive not.
3 Legions
4 enormous
5 which devise against me
6 before thy feet
7 I cut them in pieces.
8 Thou, even thou,
9 art King of the Kings.
10 From the mouth of ISTARU-BELA-DA'INI/
1 1 a petitioner of the King.
1 2 I (am) the Lady of Arbela.
13 To the mother of the King,
14 because she has angered me :
1 5 that from (thy) right hand
1 6 (and) from thy left hand
1 7 in chains she shall dwell,
1 8 that it may not be,
190 offspring of my heart,
20 (that in) the desert she may rest.
2 1 Thus, O King, fear not,
22 thy kingdom shall be safe,
23 thy power shall be safe also.
24 From the mouth of NIN-ABI-SA/
2 5 a daughter of the city of Arbela.
" Istar, judge thou (my) lord."
" Nobody (is) her father."
70 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
26 Peace to ESARH ADDON, King of Assyria.
27 ISTAR of Arbela
28 to a supreme (place) thou hast moved.
29 Peace to the little ones whom
30 throughout the city thou sendest
31 to send forth '
32 which l
33 the man x
[The rest of this Column is lost.]
1 Lacunae.
THE ORACLE OF ISTAR OF ARBELA.
COLUMN VI.
i ' Arbela.
2 l good
3 . . . / of the city of Arbela,
4 its hand3
5 thou wilt fill.
6 The word of former (time)
7 which I tell thee
8 concerning (what) thou hast not fixed.
9 Thus
10 more than thou raisedst
i L thou fixest also.
1 2 Glorify me.
13 As the day
14 has shone forth
15 purity
1 6 let them complete.
17 In my presence glorify me.
1 8 The perverse person
1 9 from the midst of my Palace
20 I send forth.
21 O upright noble, thou judgest,
22 waters of uprightness
23 thou drinkest,
24 in the midst of thy Palace
25 thou actest uprightly.
26 Thy son, thy son's son,
27 the kingdom
28 with the blessing of NERGAL
1 Lacunas "' Or, " fist.'
72 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
29 rules.
30 From the mouth of LA-DAGIL-ILI,'
31 a son of the city of Arbela.
1 "(He who) trusts not in God." Almost every proper name, in
Assyrian, as in Hebrew, tells of some event or circumstance connected
either with the birth or with the life of the person bearing it. Thus,
"'Sinqi-sa-amur" tells of a slave redeemed from captivity; "Nin-abi-sa"
of early orphanage; " La-dagil-ili " of a son's impiety at some period of
his life. An examination of the other names in this text will give the same
interesting result.
73
ASSYRIAN REPORT TABLETS.
TRANSLATED BY
THEOPHILUS GOLDRIDGE PINCHES.
PHE following interesting inscriptions bring us into
contact, as it were, with the common people of
ancient Assyria. There are several hundreds of
tablets containing inscriptions of this class in the
British Museum, showing a very perfect system of
communication between Nineveh, the capital, and
the remotest parts of the empire. From those which
do not treat of the political affairs of the empire we
obtain much interesting information concerning the
manners and customs of the Assyrians in Biblical
times. From the other class, which may be called
despatches, we get long accounts of the progress
made by the different generals and commanders
of the Assyrian armies in subduing some small
state, quelling some revolt in a distant part of
the empire, or bringing rebels to justice. They also
abound in uncommon words and phrases which are
most interesting to the student of philology.
It is very probable that many of these tablets were
first written upon papyrus, and after having been sent
74 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
to the king, were copied by the royal scribes, and
placed in the Royal Library at Nineveh for future
reference. In support of this we find, among other
proofs, a sort of postscript attached to one of them,
which may be translated as follows : —
Insomuch as this (is) the fourth shaft-of-a-reed,1 anybody
[who] neither into the presence of BEL, nor into the
presence of the King (my) Lord [shall bring it, let the gods
curse].
The above is an interesting and conclusive proof
that clay and stone were not the only writing
materials used by the Assyrians.
The number of dated tablets is very small in com-
parison with those without dates, so that, for the most
part, we can only arrive at an idea of the time when
they were written by internal evidence, and that only
approximately. There are some, however, which
refer to historical events mentioned in the royal
annals, the dates of these can therefore be determined
accurately.
These tablets vary in length from one to about six
inches, and in width from three-quarters to two inches
and a half. Of the following inscriptions, the text of
the first four is unpublished, that of V. is published in
Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV.,
pi. 54, No. i.
1 The character used here is one that represents the Akkadian a/a/,
rendered by the Assyrian duppu-sadhru, " written tablet," and natsabu-
sa-qani, "shaft of a reed;" this last is shown to be the proper rendering
by the phonetic complement.
ASSYRIAN REPORT TABLETS.
L
This inscription evidently refers to the preparations
for one of those lion-hunts in which Assuru-bani-abla
delighted so much, scenes from which occur so
frequently upon the slabs which once adorned his
palace. These mural carvings show us the lions and
lionesses coming out of their cages, set at liberty only
to afford amusement to the great king, who, in his
chariot, draws the bow against them — a truly kingly
sport !
To the King my Lord thy servant . . . .'-iddina ; may
there be peace (to the) King my Lord ; for ever (and) ever
may NABU (and) MARDUK to the King my Lord be
propitious.
Twenty-five lionesses which are caged, with three males,
from Calah, from Nineveh, (and) from Dur-Sargina, have set
out. I detected not a pregnant one. At sunrise they
counted (them), of which they will tell the King my Lord.
II.
Letter referring to the stealing of some gold
belonging to the king.
To the King my Lord thy servant ARAD-NABI : may
there be peace to the King my Lord ; may, ASSUR, SAMAS,
BEL, ZIR-PANITUV, NABU, TASMITU, ISTAR of Nineveh,
(and) ISTAR of Arbela, these great divinities loving thy
kingdom (for) a hundred years to the King my Lord give
life ; old age and offspring may they give in plenty to the
King my Lord.
1 Lacuna.
76 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
The gold about which, in the month Tasrit, the Astro-
loger,1 the Palace Astronomer, and TUKLAT-ISS'I-SUNU,
transgressed : 3 talents of the best gold, 4 talents not the
best, the hand of the Chief-of-the-denled has placed in (his)
house, he sealed up the gold (which was) for a statue of the
King, and for a statue of the King's mother, (and) gave it
not (up). May the King my Lord to the Astrologer (and)
to the Palace Astronomer by a command fix (that) they may
discover the gold. Up to the month Dhabuni3 to the army
let them give, let them make payment.
III.
Inscription referring to the dedication of horses to
the Temple of Bit-ili at Ere'ch.
To the King of nations my Lord, thy servant NABU-IBASSI,
may Erech and Bit-Anna3 to the King of nations my Lord
be propitious ; a day of health the divinity of Bit-Erech4 and
NANA for the preservation of the life of the King my Lord
are granting.
Sheep from Bit-ili and from the city Pekod in the city
Tahua they eat ; their two shepherds, the one from Bit-ili
and the other from Pekod, (with) white horses, their
[harness] and saddles of silver [inscribed] and copper
ornamented, [also harness] and saddles inscribed [and
ornamented for] young ones one has sent.
The King of Elam to ISTAR of Erech has dedicated
horses, at the same time he has caused some to be given to
the King my Lord. With [all] reverence, the sum5 to
1 Lit., " the man of omens."
2 Dhabuni is another form of Dhabitu, "the month of benefits," Heb. I"Q"-?.
3 It is common in these salutations to use, instead of the name of the
deity, that of the city or temple over which the deity presided ; thus Erech
stands for Istar, Bit-Anna for the goddess Nana.
4 Istar.
5 That is, the full number of the horses.
ASSYRIAN REPORT TABLETS. 77
Kit-ili1 I gave not. At the same time the keepers of the
horses he has dedicated to the King my Lord I send, and
copper, ornamented and inscribed, in addition ; when I had
seen to the King my Lord I caused them to be brought.
May the King my Lord do according as he has laboured.
IV.
The following exceedingly interesting inscription is
a despatch from an Assyrian officer to the king, in
which the writer, by repeating the king's message to
him, expresses his gratitude for the favours he had
received. It contains also the account of a revolt of the
people of Carchemish, and other interesting matters.
To the King my Lord thy servant ISID-NABI, may there
be peace to the King my Lord ; may BEL, NABU, ISTAR of
Nineveh (and) ISTAR of Bit-Kidimuri,2 to the King my Lord
for ever (and) ever be propitious ; soundness of heart,
soundness of flesh to the King my Lord may they give.
Peace to the attendants of the King my Lord.
NADIN-SUM-ILI, son of ARAMIS-'SAR-ILANI, the Librarian,
the will of the King in my presence made known thus to
me : " The assembly of the enemy was abroad, so fifty
soldiers from his band twelve horses with their hands took,
they went by command of the Lords of Nineveh. The
treasure also I have divided, the portion that (is) mine has
been distributed (also). (To be) an attendant of the King
thou, (even) thou, wast raised. I have made to go from me
thus this (command)." (As for) the price, into the presence
of the King my Lord I cause it -to be brought.3
1 "The house of the divinity," Istar of Erech.
- Istar of Arbela, called in Assurbanipal's annals, "the divine queen
of Kidmuri."
3 From this it would appear the king required a gratuity for the honours
which he bestowed.
78 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Let the King my Lord ask him * concerning the destruc-
tions, (and) to the King my Lord may he reply: "(As for) the
Viceroy2 of the Carchemishians, his servants killed him,
One among them he3 has not left. We took the ordinances4
of BELTIS, who (is) the Divine Lady of Kidimuri, (and) who
the mothers whom she loves establishes. To the King my
Lord he causes (them) to be brought."
May (a statue of) the Lady of Sipara by the King my
Lord be carved.
We have passed on. Peace to the King my Lord. (In)
the city of Assib the people one has numbered.
V.
News of a revolt in some part of Arabia, supposed
to have happened late in the reign of Assuru-bani-abla.
To the King of nations my Lord thy servant NABU-SUMA-
ESIR. May NABU and MARUDUK healthy days, extended
years, a sceptre of justice, a lasting throne, to the King of
nations my Lord give.
Insomuch as the King my Lord the command fixed for me
thus : "The news of the Arabians, all thou wilt hear, stop
its course; from the Nabateans then thou wilt go forth.'
AIHAMARU, the son of AMMIHTAH, (of) the Masahians over
to them then 5 came, the soldiers he killed and he de-
vastated. One among them that they left to the midst of the
city of the King descends ; at the same time to the King
my Lord I send him. May the King from his mouth hear.
1 I.e., the messenger who carried the despatch.
2 The word in the original is Damgarstl, which, from the context,
evidently means viceroy.
3 That is, the sender of the despatch, Isid-Nabi, had avenged the death
of the Dnni»-tD-st~i of the Carchemishians, by not leaving one of the
servants, his murderers, alive.
4 It was the custom of the Assyrians to set up in a conquered city " the
ordinances of Assur," here, however, the ordinances which are set up are
those of Istar of Arbela, mentioned under the name of Beltis.
5 That is, after the command had been obeyed.
TEXTS RELATING TO
THE FALL OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE.
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
PLIE following fragments seem to refer to the
closing days of the Assyrian monarchy when
Kyaxares the Mede, with the Kimmerians, the
people of Minni, or Van, and the tribe of 'Saparda,
or Sepharad (cf. Od., 20), on the Black Sea, was
threatening Nineveh. Esarhaddon II., the Sarakos
of the Greek writers, had proclaimed a solemn
assembly to the gods, in the hope of warding off the
danger. But the bad writing of the tablets shows
that they are merely the first rough text of the royal
proclamation, and we may perhaps infer that the
capture of Nineveh and the overthrow of the Empire
8o RECORDS OF THE PAST.
prevented a fair copy from ever being taken. In the
fragments translated below, Kaztaritu, or Kyaxares,
is called " King of Karukassu " (? Caucasus), but a
detached fragment terms him " King of Media."
The fragments are numbered S 2005 and K 4668,
and I have given a copy of the text (transliterated)
in my Babylonian Literature (Bagstcr and Sons), pp.
79, 80.
8i
THE FALL OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE.
FIRST FRAGMENT.
1 (O Sun-god), mighty (Lord), to whom I will pray, O god
of fixed destiny, remove (our sin).
2 (CAS)TARIT, Lord of the city of Car-cassi, who to
MAMITI-ARSU,
3 (Lord of the city) of the Medes had sent thus : With
one another we are established, with the country of . . .'
(we are confederate).
4 (MAMI)TI-ARSU hears ; he sets his hearing before him ;
5 . . . .* this year with ESAR-H ADDON, King (of Assyria,
war he makes).
6 ' according to thy great divinity . . . .'
7 x of MAMITI-ARSU, Lord of the city of the
Medes *
8 ' (ESAR-HADDON), King of Assyria in "
[The rest of the tablet is too broken to be legible, but mention
is made of "the city 'Sandulitir," and of "the people of
'Saparda."]
1 Lacunae.
2 Perhaps Babylonia has to be supplied here.
VOL. XI. 7
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
SECOND FRAGMENT.
1 O Sun-god, great Lord, I have prayed to thee ; O god
of fixed destiny, remove our sin.
2 From the current day the third day of this month
lyyar1 to the i5th day of the month Ab of the current
year,
3 for TOO days (and) 100 nights current, let the General
among the ranks proclaim sacred rites (and) festivals ;
4 since CASTARIT with his soldiers, and the soldiers of the
Kimmerians,
5 and the soldiers of the Medes, and the soldiers of the
Minni, and the enemy, all of them,
6 inundate (and) are multitudinous 2 since on the
seventh (day) 2
7 during the festival, by means of conflict and battle, and
battering engines the revolters revolted.
8 Then with machines of war 2 and with famine
9 and with the oath of obedience to god and (King), and
in addition 2
10 and with the bond of a letter ' (to) the cities,
all of them
1 lyyar corresponds roughly to our Aprli, Ab to our July.
~ Lacunae.
FALL OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 83
1 1 (belonging to) the city of the Cisas's'utians, '
the midst of the city Khartam, the city Cisassu they
approached ;
12 the city Khartam, (and) the city Cisassu their hands
captured.2
13 To their hands the Sun-god, the mighty eye (of heaven)
numbered (them, along with)
14 five (villages) of the city of Khartam (and) the city
Cisass'u into the hands of the enemy, all of them.
15 From the current day to the day of the feast in the land
before thy great divinity
1 6 I left * (in) the midst of them they devise, they
turn and *
[The next 8 lines are too mutilated for translation.]
26 Since that (from) the current day, the 3rd day of (this)
month lyyar to the nth day of the month Ab of the
current year,
27 CASTARIT with his soldiers (and) the forces of the
Kimmerians, the soldiers of the Minni,
28 and the soldiers of the Medes, (and) the enemy, all of
them,
1 Lacunae.
2 These cities were probably situated on the northern frontier of
Assyria.
7*
84 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
29 the city of Khartam (and) the city of Cisassu ap-
proached ; the city of Khartam (and) the city of
the Cisas's'utians,
30 (even) the city of Khartam (and) the city of Cisassu
their hands captured ; to their hands they were measured.
1 Lacuna.
THE EGIBI TABLETS.
TRANSLATED BY
THEOPHILUS GOLDRIDGE PINCHES.
Egibi Tablets are documents of the class
called Contract Tablets, and are the records of
the transactions of a firm of bankers calling them-
selves sons of Egibi, who lived and carried on their
business in Babylonia, from an unknown period
to about the fourth century before Christ.
The time of the existence of Egibi, the founder of
this family, is totally unknown, but it was probably a
thousand years before Christ at least, for other
records in the British Museum tell us of his name,
and " the family of the house of Egibi " is spoken of
as of citizens well known, and of influence, about the
time of Assuru-bani-abla (Assurbanipal).
These tablets are written in the Babylonian charac-
ter, and, though showing a language varying but
86 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
slightly from that of Assyria, Babylonia's deadly foe
in times past, they differ from the tablets of the same
class of the older Babylonia and Assyria in a matter
of the greatest import to chronologists, and that is,
the way in which they are dated. The system of
dating in older Babylonia was very imperfect, the
year when a transaction took place being recalled to
memory by any memorable event that might have
happened during that year. The system in Assyria
was much more precise, transactions being dated
during the term of office of the eponym for the year
in which they took place.
In the tablets of the later Babylonian empire the
system of dating in the regnal years of the king
was used, and this system prevailed as long as the
cuneiform writing continued in use, the only ex-
ception being the double dating of the Arsaka, or
Arsacidae.
Now it is manifest, when we have a number of
tablets belonging to the same firm, in which this
system of dating is used, that by following the names
of the heads of the firm from father to son, we must
get the exact succession of the kings of the period
THE EGIBI TABLETS. 87
when these documents were written, and a most
valuable check on the chronology.
The most valuable tablets being the first and the
last date of each reign, I give here a list of them :
Nebuchadnezzar III. (the Great.)
FIRST.
LAST.
Accession year,
yth March esvan
43rd year, nth Nisan.
Evil-Merodach.
Accession year, 2ist Tisri | 2nd year, 5th Sebat.
Neriglissar.
Accession year,
27th Marchesvan
4th year, i2th Adar.
Nabonidus.
Accession year, 1 2th Tammuz | 171!! year, 5th Elul.
Cyrus.
Accession year, i6th Kislev | 9th year, 22nd Ab.
Cambyses.
Accession year, i6th Elul | 8th year, nth Tebet.1
1 Last date before the revolt of Bardes.
88 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Bardes.
ist year, 2oth Elul | ist year, nth Tisri.
Nebuchadnezzar IV. (Pretender.)
Accession year, 2oth Kislev | 2nd year.1
Last date of Cambyses, I ith year, 7th day.2
Darius,
ist year, month Nisan | 36th year, 5th Ab.
Other dates are :
A tablet dated month lyyar, day I4th, accession
year of Lakhabbasi-Kudur, king of Babylon.
A tablet dated month Kislev, day 23rd, 3rd year of
Marduku-'sarra-yutsur, king of Babylon.3
A fragment dated month Sivan, 5th day, I7th year
of Artakfkur'su],4 king of Countries.
The Egibi Tablets thus cover a period of about
164 years.
The chronology of the period between B.C. 605
and 517, is, according to the tablets, as follows:
1 Month and day lost. 2 Month lost.
3 This tablet, unfortunately, I cannot find, though I have sought for it
most carefully. It is probable that it got crushed in transit by some
heavy objects, the antiquities having been badly packed.
4 Attaxerxes.
THE EGIBI TABLETS. 89
Nebuchadnezzar III. B.C. 604
Evil-Merodach ,, 561
Neriglissar „ 558
Nabonidus „ 554
Cyrus - ,,537
Cambyses1 „ 528*
Bardes - ,,520
Nebuchadnezzar IV. „ 519
Cambyses restored - „ 518
Darius - ,,517
Future researches and discoveries will doubtless
make alterations in the chronology of this period, which
the above lists will give some idea of the importance
of these documents in determining.
The tablets vary in size from three-quarters of
an inch by half an inch to nine inches by twelve.
They are usually covered with writing on both sides,
and sometimes, on the edges as well. Many contain
no date, and these, on examination, prove to be
either rough memoranda, lists of objects or produce,
1 Cyrus, after having reigned nine years as King of Babylon and
Countries, abdicated the throne of Babylon in favour of his son Cambyses,
and continued reigning some years as king of Countries only.
2 The dates of Maruduku-sarra-yutsur and Lakhabbasi-Kudur are be-
tween B.C. 572 and 528. The latter was evidently an usurper.
90 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
or letters. The more important transactions were
re-copied on larger tablets with great care and
elaboration of details. These larger tablets usually
contain impressions from cylinder seals, and nail-
marks, which were considered to be a man's natural
seal.
THE EGIBI TABLETS.
I.1
1 MARDUKU-SUMA-BANU,
2 son of TABNE-ABLA,
3 the son of NABU-KARIR, the Librarian,
4 of the family of the house of GAKHAL.
5 (The house of his father is in front of (the Palace of) my
Lord.)
6 ITTI-MARDUKI-BALADHU,
7 son of SA-SIKKUL,
8 the son of BALA'SU,
9 of the family of the house of SUMA-LUBSI',
10 the Chamberlain.
1 1 (The house of his father is before the Temple of the
King of the Abyss).
12 ILLATU,
13 son of MARDUK,
14 the son of BA'U-LASIN,
1 5 of the family of the house of BELU-EDIRA.
1 6 (The house of his father is before the gate of the
descent
1 7 (to the Temple) of GULA.)
1 8 SA-PI-BELI, son of AYA,
1 K 6. About the time of Assuru-bani-abla (Assur-bani-pal).
92 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
19 the son of SIPUR-NAPISTI,
20 of the family of the house ot the Boatmen.
2 1 (Their house is on the farther side
22 the granary (and) cornfield.)
23 BELU-AKHA-IDDIN, son of NABU-KA'SIR,
24 the son of NABU-MUDU
25 of the family of the house of EGIBI.
26 (The house of his father is in the district of
27 (the Temple of) ISKHARA.)
28 In all 5 men,
29 whom NABU-BELI-SUNU,
30 to preserve his life
31 to BEL
32 has dedicated.
II.
1 Day 5th of the month Kislev, 'SARRU-KINU/ son of
AMMANU,
2 his witness2 in the city Piqudu3 is smitten and
3 to IDIKHI-ILA, son of DINA they impute4 (it).
4 From IDIKHI-ILA to 'SARRU-KINU one sent
5 thus : " To determine concerning thy servant who was
killed
6 with me conferrest thou not ? I
1 Evidently so named after 'Sarru-kinu (Sargon) or Agane, the
celebrated early Babylonian king.
5 Observe this legal phraseology. This "witness" was 'Sarru-kinu's
servant.
3 Pekod, a town lying to the south of Babylon.
4 Literally, " they cause to fix."
THE EGIBI TABLETS. 93
7 the life of thy servant will make up to thee."
8 As they determined it, i mana of silver, the price of
9 his servant, IDIKHI-ILANA' to
10 'SARRU-KINU gives,
1 1 because they did not fix it [upon him for certain].
1 2 Witnesses : NAZIYA, the Officer of the King ;
13 IL-SADI-RABI-IDDIN, son of TALMUD-ILI;
14 SEGURA, son of TALAH, Governor of Rutuv;2
15 and the Scribe NABU-AKHI-IDDIN, son of
1 6 SULA the son of EGIBI. Rutuv,
17 Month Samna,3 7th day, 4oth year,
1 8 NABU-KUDURRA-YUTSUR/ King of Babylon.
III.
1 A double field of corn-land, planted, 5 adults and
children,
2 which NABU-AKHI-IDDIN, son of SULA, son of EGIBI,
3 with KIBIHTUV-KI'INAT, his daughter, for DUMMUQU,
4 son of BELU-AKHI-IDDIN, the son of EGIBI had bespoken.
5 Afterwards, in the month Aim,5 day ist, year i4th,
NABU-NAHiD,6 King of Babylon,
6 ITTI-MARDUKI-BALADHU, son of NABU-AKHI-IDDIN, the
son of EGIBI,
1 The same as Idikhi-ila, ilana being the plural form. The name
signifies, " He goes before God/' or " the gods."
* An unknown city.
3 Marchesvan. 4 Nebuchadrezzar, or Nebuchadnezzar.
5 lyyar. 6 Nabonidus.
94 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
7 the double field of corn-land, planted, by the road of
the hill, from beyond the King's road
8 which is beside the river Banituv, to beyond the
boundaries of their corn-land
9 which is against (the enclosure of) BANUNU-ABLA, as
the hill-road mounts to the approach, ITTI-MARDUKI-
BALADHU and DUMMUQA,
10 with the others, take. SALLATYA,
11 BUTA, NABNITUV-KHULATUV, SU'INNI,
1 2 and LATU-BARANU, who into the hands of the spice-
1 3 merchant, in all 5 adults and children,
14 ITTI-MARDUKI-BALADHU, son of NABU-AKHI-IDDIN, the
son of EGIBI
1 5 has given. The adults, whom QUDASU for DUMMUQU
1 6 had bespoken, DUMMUQU asks QUDASU for.
1 7 Witnesses : BANIYA, son of TABNE-ABLA, the son of the
Commander ;
1 8 NABU-NATSIR, son of INA-E-SAGGIL-IDDIN, the son of
the Messenger of BEL ;
19 MASQUL, son of NABU-SUMA-IDDIN the son of NADIN-
SE'IV;
20 BEL-BASA, son of NABU-RAKHIB, the son of NUR-'SINI ;
21 and the Messenger MARDUKU-AKALA-IDDIN, son of
KUNA, the son of the Commander.
22 Babylon, month Airu, ist day, year i4th, NABU-NAHID,
23 Kmg of Babylon.
24 -SADARI they have taken '
1 In plainer language, the transaction is as follows: Nabu-akhi-iddin
and Kibihtuv-ki'inat had bespoken a double corn field and five female
slaves for Dummuqu, and afterwards, on the date named, Dummuqu,
Itti-Marduki-baladhu, and others, took possession of the property. Itti-
Marduki-baladhu took the slaves for himself, and delivered them into the
hands of one of his employes, but Dummuqu demands of Qudasu, Itti-
Marduki-baladhu's aunt, the adults which she had promised to him.
THE EGIBI TABLETS.
IV.
1 MANNUA-KI-BELI and ITTI-MARDUKI-BALADHU, '
2 his son, slaves of MUDINNU
3 whom NABU-IDDIN, son of DAN-RAMMANI for silver.
4 to ITTI-MARDUKI-BALADHU, son of NABU-AKHI-IDDIN,
5 son of EGIBI, for silver * gave and afterwards confirmed.
6 But UKKUS his3 elder brother who to (be)
7 a witness was come, the number (and) description
8 of the slaves, dwelling with ITTI-MARDUKI-BALADHU,
9 gave,4 and ITTI-MARDUKI-BALADHU,
10 in the kindness of his heart, a half mana of silver
1 1 in payment as a recompense to MUDINNU
12 gave. The silver, a half mana, MUDINNU
13 from the hands of ITTI-MARDUKI-BALADHU received.
14 Witnesses: IDDINA-MARDUKU, son of
15 BELU-BALIDH, the son of DAN-RAMMANI; BELU-IDDIN,
1 6 son of ZIR-YA, the son of ARAD-MARDUKI-ELLI ; NABU-
MATA-YUNAMMIR,
1 7 son of TALMUD, the son of EPES-ILI ; and the Mes-
senger, NABU-SUMA-IDDIN, son
1 8 of MARDUKU-SUMA-IKHKHUR, the son of the Com-
mander. Babylon, month Ululu,5 day loth,
19 year 7th, KURRAS,* King of Babylon (and) King of
Countries.
1 Not to be confused with the descendant of Egibi of the same name,
who is also mentioned in this text.
2 The repetition of these words seems to indicate that the document was
written from dictation.
3 Mudinnu's. 4 This was to prove Mudinnu's right to the slaves.
5 Elul. 6 Cyrus.
96 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
V.
1 DA'INU-SUMA-IDDIN, son of NERGAL-ZIRA-BANI,
2 in the joy of his heart, UMMU-ANA-ALI,
3 GUDADITI, and RIHINDU,
4 in all three, his slaves, for three manas
5 of silver, for the complete sum, to
6 IDDIN-MARDUKU, son of BASA, the son of NUR-SINI
7 has given. (But) for the amount of 4 manas, 5
shekels,1
8 full weight, 4 sheep, (and) 4 oxen, which (are) more
than
9 DA'INU-SUMA-IDDIN to DA'INU-BA(SA),
10 the Collector of BEL for E-saggil
u gave,
1 2 the agreement they settle, which concerning
13 UMMU-ANA-ALI, GUDADITI,
14 and RIHINDU, the freed-woman of DA'INU-SUMA-IDDIN
15 was raised."
1 6 Witnesses: LABASI, son of DA'INU-MARDUKU, the son
of AVIL-NABI ;
j 7 ITTI-NABI-BALADHU, son of BELU-AKHI-IDDIN, the son
of KILUBU;
1 8 ARAD-BA'U, son of BELI-SUNU, the son of RABU-BANI;
19 ARDI-YA, son of LABASI, the son of SALGUA;
1 Here the scribe has erased some words which, from the few marks
left, probably read " Da'inu-suma-iddin to Da'inu-basa."
2 This line was completed to its full length, and afterwards erased by
the scribe.
1
I
THE EGIEI TABLETS. 97
20 and the Messenger BELU-RABI-ABLA son of AKHI-SUNU.
Babylon,
21 month Sabadhu, day i3th, year 7th, NABU-NAHID,
22 King of Babylon.
VI.1
1 3 half royal shekels, 95 royal shekels,
2 tribute. Month 'Sivanu,
3 day 24th,
4 year 2nd,
5 KURRAS,
6 King of Babylon,
7 King of Countries.
VII.3
1 i shekel of silver, which for
2 wine was given.
3 i shekel of silver, which to
4 the Messenger, TAMNAZIKU,
5 was given.
6 A loan of silver,
7 which to the Messenger
1 Tribute tablet, the smallest dated tablet of the collection.
3 Undated tablet, containing rough memoranda.
VOL. XI. 8
98
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
8 of the RATENU,'
9 was given.
1 Name of a people resembling the Ruten or Rutennu, supposed
Syrians, conquered by the Egyptians. S.B.
99
THE DEFENCE OF A MAGISTRATE
FALSELY ACCUSED.
(FROM A TABLET IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.)
TRANSLATED BY THE LATE
H. FOX TALBOT, F. R. S.
tablet, marked K 31, is preserved in the
British Museum, and has been published in the
Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., plate 53. It
is very different both in style and subject from any-
thing that has been hitherto translated. It is a letter
to the King from a magistrate named Nebo-balatzu-
ikbi protesting his entire innocence of the charges
brought against him. He seems in great trouble, the
letter passes from one subject to another almost
without warning ; the diction is rapid and passionate,
and there can be no doubt, I think, that we have here
100 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
the original letter and not a copy made from it
afterwards.
The chief charges against him appear to have been
two. First, disloyalty to the King (perhaps treason) ;
and secondly, complicity in the carrying off a young
lady of noble birth ; which crime he utterly denies all
knowledge of, and professes his readiness, if the King
is not satisfied, to submit to any judicial investigation
that the King may desire.
This translation, together with its accompanying
text, was first published in the Transactions of the
Society of Biblical A rchceology, Vol, VI., p. I.
101
THE DEFENCE OF A MAGISTRATE.
1 To the King my Lord
2 thy servant NEBO-BALATZU-IKBI (sends greeting).
3 May NEBO and MARDUK to the King my Lord be pro-
pitious !
4 and may the god .... who is the head of heaven and
earth
5 prolong thy life ! Have I not once and twice
6 besought the King my Lord ? yet no one has sent to me
7 news from Babylonia.1 Is the countenance of the King
turned away from me ?
8 and have I committed some crime against the King my
Lord.
9 No ! I have not committed any crime against the King
my Lord.
10 When trustworthy witnesses had assembled together,
11 and I had declared my fidelity to the King before a
Public Notary,
12 a certain man, my accuser, entered the Palace
13 boldly; a criminal charge against me he raised : fetters
14 on my hands he placed, and said :
15 In the presence of all these people who are here
assembled,
1 It is very uncertain whether Babylonia be intended here, but rather
Akkad, a district of Babylonia of which the exact limits are not known.
It was so called from its inhabitants, the Akkadai or " Highlanders."
102 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
1 6 as prisoner of my lord the King. I arrest you I1 All that
day
17 I lay flat on my face upon my bed.
1 8 The soldiers who passed by my bed
1 9 out of ill-will no one gave me food for my mouth ;
20 hunger and emptiness fell upon me.
2 1 When evening came, I rose up, and I muffled my fetters,
22 and I passed by in front of the guard
23 whom the King my Lord had set in that place to guard it.
24 How I was liberated I will now tell the King.
25 Some soldiers, strangers to me, came in thither,
26 who broke off from me the King's fetters,
27 and with idle words against the King
28 spoke (the King will understand me)
29 For two days, for money, to sustain my life
30 they brought me of their food, for my portion, and for
my nourishment,
31 and they spoke words of disrespect
32 against the King my Lord, that are not decorous that the
King my Lord should know them ;
33 their full speech _I conceal, for it were not meet for the
eyes of the King.
34 (SARLUDARU will tell me the will of the King).2
1 This is a very interesting account of the arrest of an accused, and of
the subsequent severe treatment under confinement of which he complains.
The irregular manner in which justice was administered in ancient times,
as now, in the East, may be seen by comparing- this account with that
given by another tablet (a translation of which will be found in this
volume, see "Assyrian Report Tablets," p. 76), in which three men, two of
them holding posts which were considered to be of great importance, kept
back four out of seven talents of the gold which was to have been used
for the images of some former kings, and an image of the mother of the
then reigning monarch. No punishment is mentioned, the writer only
asking the king to command that the gold should be returned as pay to
the army.
2 That is, if the king wish to know what those words of disrespect
were, would he communicate with me through Sarludaru.
DEFENCE OF A MAGISTRATE. 103
35 Moreover, a certain villain of the land of Sumir,1 who
never
36 broke my bread,5 this man seduced the daughter of
BABILAI,3
37 who is the son of one of the Priests of the Sun.
38 To the King my Lord I wrote word of the crime, and,
one at a time,
39 the Sukkal* and the Martinu* took it by turns to
adjudicate,
40 for the King on purpose had mingled them so, to judge
my household :
41 they sent writings in multitudes, letter after letter.
42 When SARLUDARU to the office of High Treasurer
43 had been appointed, the Martinu demanded judgment,
44 and having thrown the men of my household into prison
45 he gave them to SARLUDARU. When he came
46 to judge, he said : Fear not, my man !
47 In vain thou fearest. And I till the time of the evening
meal
48 continued talking with him. Meanwhile, the girl
49 had been carried off; but how she left the house
50 I saw not ; I heard not; and I knew not who
1 Rather, " Akkad." T.G.P. • I.e., was my guest or friend.
3 Balilai, "the Babylonian." Many names of this kind occur in the
inscriptions, such as: Assurai, "the Assurite;" Ninai, "the Ninevite;"
ArlcCilai, " he of Arbela;" Khaltsuai, "the inhabitant of the fortress."
These names do not seem to have been used because the writers did not
know the real names of the persons spoken of, as there is a number of
them in a list of proper names printed in the second volume of the
Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia. They seem to have been given
by parents to their children from motives of civic pride, for we find such
names as: Mannu-ki-Arl-a'ili, "What is like Arbela ?" Mannu-ki-Nina,
" What is like Nineveh ? "
4 Or, expert. 5 Or, law-officer.
104 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
51 carried her off, not in the least ! for in the crowd of
servants
52 of the King my Lord, with whom she had been talking,
she had remained behind.
530 MARDUK ! whoever has concealed her flight, I have as
yet obtained no news of him,
54 but, O Lord of Kings ! I will urge with haste the search
for her present dwelling-place.
55 The Martinu* has annulled the criminal accusation,
56 but that the King (himself) should judge all my family
57 from my heart I desire !
1 Or law officer.
I05
THE LATEST ASSYRIAN INSCRIPTION.
TRANSLATED BY
PROF. DR. JULIUS OPPERT.
TN 1870 I found, in the Museum of the Society of
Antiquarians at Zurich, a little clay tablet, which
struck me on account of the title of the king in the
date of the tablet, " King of Persia." This title not
having occurred in a single text of the Achsemenidae,
who assumed the name of " King of the Nations," I
found after a long examination, that this tablet
must belong to the Arsacidae, and especially to
King Pacorus II., who was contemporary with the
emperors Titus and Domitian. This little inscription,
the most modern of all known cuneiform texts, has
been edited by myself in the Melanges d' Arche'ologie
Egyptienne et Assyrieune (Tom. I., p. 240, ff.), and in
the Documents juridiques, which I published with
M. Menant; and lastly by Prof. Sayce in his Lectures
upon the Assyrian Language^ p. 41.
106 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
THE LATEST ASSYRIAN INSCRIPTION.
TEXT OF PACORUS II.
Owed 40 tetradrachma.
LARASSIB, son of BEL-AKHE-IRIB, will pay into the hands ot
ZIR-IDIN, son of HABLAI, in the month of Tyar, 40 tetra-
drachma, in the temple of the Sun, in Babylon.
Witnesses : URRAME, son of PUYA ; ALLIT, son of
AIRAD ; KISTAR, son of SINAM ; ZIR-IDIN, son of HABLAI,
writer.
Babylon, in the month of Kislev, the 3rd day, in the 5th
year of PIKHARIS, King of Persia.1
1 The names of this curious little tablet are in part Babylonian, in part
Persian, all the witnesses seem to bear even modern Persian names.
The only king who can be referred to is Pacorus II., who commenced
his reign A.D. 77. The fifth year in the Kislev is therefore December,
A.D. Si, that is, the time of the emperor Domitian, who commenced his
reign September 13, A.D. 81.
I should have supposed to find in the name one of the independent
Persian kings during the Arsacidae's reign, if these petty kings had ever
had Babylon in their possession.
The word which we express by tetradrachm, is lar sa, of a very obscure
form.
107
ANCIENT BABYLONIAN
LEGEND OF THE CREATION.
(FROM CUTHAH.)
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
HT H E following translation is made from an
Assyrian copy of an old Babylonian text, belonging
to the Library of Cuthah. The account of the
Creation contained in it differs wholly from the later
syncretistic story of the Creation in seven days, which
does not seem earlier than the time of Assurbanipal.
The proper names in the following legend, as well as
certain expressions, are Accadian, from which we may
infer that the legend itself is of Accadian origin. The
name Memangab, which means " Thunderbolt," gives
a clue to the primitive signification of the myth.
Like so many other early Chaldean myths it describes
IOS RECORDS OF THE PAST.
the struggle between the evil powers of darkness,
storm, and chaos, and the bright powers of order and
light.
The tablet is unfortunately much injured, and a
good deal of it has been lost. What is left, however,
contains a reference to those creatures of compound
shape which, according to Berosus, the Babylonians
believed to have preceded the present creation. The
text has not yet been published. A translation has
been given by Mr. George Smith in his Chaldean
Genesis, pp. 102-106.
IOQ
BABYLONIAN LEGEND OF THE CREATION.
COLUMN I.
[Many lines lost at the beginning.]
3 . . .' his lord, the crown of the gods . . . .'
4 the spearmen of his host, the spearmen of (his) host
i
5 Lord of those above and those below, Lord of the
spirits . . . .*
6 who drank turbid waters and pure waters did not drink
i
7 who (with) his flame as a weapon that host enclosed,
8 has taken, has devoured.
9 On a memorial-stone he wrote not, he disclosed not, and
bodies and produce
10 in the earth he caused not to come forth; and I ap-
proached him not.
1 1 Warriors (with) the bodies of birds of the desert, men
1 2 (with) the faces of ravens,3
13 these the great gods created ;
14 in the earth the gods created their city.
1 5 TIAMAT 3 gave them suck.
1 6 Their life BILAT-ILI (Mistress of the gods) created.
17 In the midst of the earth they grew up and became
strong, and
1 8 increased in number.
19 Seven Kings, brethren, were made to come as begetters ;
1 Lacunse.
* Literally, "a raven their face."
3 "The deep," the principle of chaos and anarchy.
110 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
20 six thousand (were) their armies.
21 The god BANINI their father (was) King; their mother
22 the Queen (was) MELILI;
23 their eldest brother who went before them, MEMANGAB
(was) his name;1
24 (their) second brother, MEDUDU (was) his name ;
25 (their) third brother, . . ." PAKH (was) his name;
26 (their) fourth brother, . . .' (DA)DA (was) his name ;
27 (their) fifth brother, . . .2 TAKH (was) his name;
28 (their sixth brother,) . . .* (RU)RU (was) his name ;
29 (their seventh brother,) . . .' (RARA was) his (name).
1 Here the original Accadian is preserved.
2 Lacunae.
BABYLONIAN LEGEND OF THE CREATION. Ill
COLUMN II.
[Many lines are lost.]
1 . . .' the evil curse . . . .'
2 The man his determination turned . . .'
3 on a . . .' I arranged.
4 On a (tablet) the evil curse (which) in blood he raised
5 (I wrote and the children of) the Generals I urged on.
6 Seven (against seven in) breadth I arranged them.
7 (I established) the holy (ordinances).
8 I prayed to the great gods,
9 ISTAR, . . . .x ZAMAMA, ANUNIT,
10 NEBO, . . .* (and) the Sun-god, the warrior;
1 1 the Son of (the Moon-god), the gods that go (before) me
12 'he did not adjudge, and
13 thus I said unto my heart,
14 that, Here I (am) ; and
15 may I not go . . . .' (beneath) the ground
1 6 may I not go . . . .' may the prayer
17 go, when ' my heart
1 8 may I renew, the iron may I take.
1 9 The first year in (its) course
20 one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers I caused to
go forth, and among them
2 1 not one returned.
22 The second year in (its) course ninety thousand soldiers
I caused to go forth, and among them not one returned.
23 The third year in (its) course 60,700 soldiers I caused
to go forth, and among them not one returned.
1 Lacunae.
1 12 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
24 They were removed away, they were smitten with sick-
ness ; I ate,
25 I rejoiced, I rested.
26 Thus I said to my heart, that Here I (am) ; and
27 for (my) reign what have I left?
28 I, the King, (am) not the completer of his country ;
BABYLONIAN LEGEND OF THE CREATION. 113
COLUMN III.
1 and (I), the Shepherd, (am) not the completer of his
army,
2 since I established corpses, and a desert I left.
3 The whole of the country (and) men, with night, death,
(and) plague I cursed it.
4 With terror, violence, sickness, and famine
5 (I afflicted them) as many as exist.
6 * there descended
7 'a whirlwind
8 'its whirlwind.
9 ' all.
TO The foundations (of the earth were shaken.)
1 1 The gods '
12 Thou didst bind, and *
13 and l
14 Thou protectedst '
15 A memorial of spoiling and r
1 6 in supplication to HEA '
17 holy memorial sacrifices x
1 8 holy tereti x
19 I collected; the children of the Generals (I urged on.).
20 Seven against seven in breadth I arranged.
2 1 I established the holy ordinances.
22 I prayed to (the great) gods,
23 ISTAR, ...'.' (ZAMAMA, ANUNIT)
24 NEBO, . . . .' (and the Sun-god, the warrior)
25 the Son (of the Moon-god, the gods who go before me.)
[Lacunas.]
1 Lacunae.
VOL. XI. 9
114 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
COLUMN IV.
[Many lines are lost.1]
1 Thou, O King, Viceroy, Shepherd, or any one else
2 whom the god shall call (to) rule the kingdom,
4 in the city of Cuthah, in the temple of Gallam,
3 (as for) this tablet (which) I made for thee, the memorial-
stone (which) I wrote for thee,
5 for the worship of NERGAL (which) I left for thee,
6 to the mouth of this my memorial-stone hearken, and
7 thou shalt not rebel, thou shalt not slacken,
8 thou shalt not fear, thou shalt not curse.
9 May he establish thy foundation !
10 As for thee, in thy works may he make splendour.
1 1 Thy citadels shall be strong.
12 Thy canals shall be full of water.
13 Thy papyri,3 thy corn, thy silver, thy furniture, thy goods,
14 and thy instruments (all) of them
15 (shall be multiplied) 3
1 Of the first eight lines that remain only the first words in each line
are left, viz : " with," " the men," " a foreign city," " this city," " to," " a
strong king," " the gods," " my hand."
* There is here evidently a reference to the literature, a good deal of
which was inscribed upon papyri.
3 Lacunas.
THE OVERTHROW
OF
SODOM AND GOMORRAH
(ACCADIAN ACCOUNT.)
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
following Accadian poem describes a rain of
fire similar in character and effect to that which
destroyed the cities of the plain. It seems merely a
fragment of a legend, in which the names of the
cities were probably given, and an explanation
afforded of the mysterious personage mentioned in
line 17, who, like Lot, appears to have escaped
destruction. It must not be forgotten that the
campaign of Chedorlaomer and his allies was directed
•against Sodom and the other cities of the plain, so
that the existence of the legend among the Accadians
Il6 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
is not so surprising as might appear at first sight.
The original Accadian text is given in the tablet
as well as the Assyrian translation. Unfortunately
only one half of the tablet is perfect. A copy of
it will be found in the Cuneiform, Inscriptions of
Western Asia, Vol. IV., 19, I Obv.
THE
OVERTHROW OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH.
1 An overthrow ' from the midst of the deep2 there came.
2 The fated punishment3 from the midst of heaven
descended.
3 A storm like a plummet the earth (overwhelmed).
4 To the four winds the destroying flood like fire did burn.
5 The inhabitants of the citie(s) it had caused to be
tormented ; their bodies it consumed.
6 In city and country it spread death, and the flames as
they rose 4 overthrew.
7 Freeman and slave were equal, and the high places it
filled.
8 In heaven and earth like a thunder-storm it had rained ;
a prey it made.
9 A place of refuge the gods 5 hastened to, and in a throng
collected.
10 Its mighty (onset) they fled from, and like a garment it
concealed (mankind).
1 1 They (feared), and death (overtook them).
1 2 (Their) feet and hands (it embraced).
1 Literally, "sinking down," or "darkness" (Aram.
3 Not the sea, but "the waters which were above the firmament."
3 Assyrian, "the oath" (mamitu).
4 Literally, " the goings forth of the flames."
5 Assyrian, " their god."
Il8 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
13 ... '
14 Their body it consumed.
15 ' the city, its foundations it denied.
1 6 ' in breath, his mouth he filled.
1 7 As for this man, a loud voice a was raised ; the mighty
lightning flash descended.
1 8 During the day it flashed; grievously (it fell).
Lacunae. 2 That is, " the thunder.'
CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN.
TRANSLATED BY
FRANCOIS LENORMANT.
Sun-god, called in the Accadian Utu and
Parra (the latter is of less frequent occurrence), and in
the Semitic Assyrian Samas, held a less important
rank in the divine hierarchy of the Chaldaic-Baby-
lonian pantheon, afterwards adopted by the Assyrians,
than the Moon-god (in the Accadian Akuy Eniztma,
and Hiiru-ki, in the Assyrian Sm), who was even
sometimes said to be his father. His principal and
most common title was " Judge of Heaven and Earth,"
in the Accadian dikud ana km, in the Assyrian dainu
sa same u irtsiti. The most important sanctuaries of
the deity were at Larsam, in southern Chaldaea, and
Sippara, in the north of Babylonia.
120 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Some few fragments of liturgical or magical hymns
addressed to Shamas have come down to us. These
are five in number, and I give a translation of
them here. They have all been studied previously
by other Assyriologists, but I think the present inter-
pretation of them is superior to any which has as yet
been furnished.
The following are the chief bibliographical data
concerning them : —
I. The primitive Accadian text, accompanied by
an interlinear Assyrian version, published in the
Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., pi.
20, No. 2. I put forth a first attempt at a translation
in my Magie cliez les Chaldeens (p. 165), and since then
M. Friedrich Delitzsch has given a much better
explanation of it (G. Smith's Chalddische Genesis, p.
284). Of this hymn we possess only the first five
lines.
II. The primitive Accadian text, with an inter-
linear Assyrian version, is published in the Cuneiform
Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV, pi. 19, No. 2.
M. Delitzsch has given a German translation of it in
G. Smith's Chalddische Genesis,^. 284, and a revised
CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN. 121
one in English has just appeared in Prof. Sayce's
Lectures upon Babylonian Literature, p. 43.
III. A similar sacred text, published in the
Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., pi.
28, No. r, in which the indications as to the obverse
and reverse of the tablet are incorrect and ought to be
altered. The two fragments left to us, separated by a
gap, the extent of which it is at present impossible to
estimate, belong to an incantatory hymn destined to
effect the cure of the king's disease. Interpretations
have been attempted in my Premieres Civilisations
(Vol. II., p. 165 et seq.), and in the appendices added
by M. Friedrich Delitzsch, to his German translation of
G. Smith's work already cited.
IV. The primitive Accadian text with an inter-
linear Assyrian version, published in the Cuneiform
Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., pi. 17, col. I.
This hymn, like the preceding one, is intended to be
recited by the priest of magic in order to cure the
invalid king. I gave a very imperfect translation of
it in my Magie chez les Chalde'ens (p. 166).
V. We possess only the Semitic Assyrian version
of this text ; it was published in the Cuneiform
122 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., pi. 1 7, col. 2. As
yet, no one has produced a complete translation of
this hymn ; but a few passages have been quoted
by M. Friedrich Delitzsch (G. Smith's Chalddische
Genesis, p. 284) and myself (La Magiechez les Chalde'ens,
p. 164, and pp. 179, 1 80, of the English Edition,
I refer the reader to the various publications above
mentioned for a convincing proof of the entirely
revised character of the translations here submitted to
him, and I think he will grant that I have made some
progress in this branch of knowledge, since my first
attempts many years ago.
I23
CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN.
FIRST HYMN.
1 MAGICAL incantation.
2 SUN, from the foundations of heaven thou art risen ;
3 thou hast unfastened the bolts of the shining skies ;
4 thou hast opened the door of heaven.
5 SUN, above the countries thou hast raised thy head.
6 SUN, thou hast covered the immensity of the heavens
and the terrestrial countries.
[The fragments of the four following lines are too mutilated
to furnish any connected sense ; all the rest of the hymn is
entirely wanting.]
SECOND HYMN.1
1 Lord, illuminator of the the darkness, who piercest the
face of darkness,
2 merciful god, who settest up those that are bowed down,
who sustainest the weak,
3 towards the light the great gods direct their glances,
4 the archangels of the abyss,2 every one of them, con-
template eagerly thy face.
5 The language of praise,3 as one word, thou directest it.
6 The host of their heads seeks the light of the SUN
in the South.4
7 Like a bridegroom thou restest joyful and gracious.5
1 See also Lenormant, Chaldean Magic, p. 180.
2 In the Assyrian version : "The archangels of the earth."
3 In the Assyrian version : "The eager language."
4 The Assyrian version has simply: "of the Sun."
5 " Like a wife thou submittest thyself, cheerful and kindly." Sayce.
124 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
8 In thy illumination them dost reach afar to the
boundaries of heaven.1
9 Thou art the banner of the vast earth.
10 O God ! the men who dwell afar off contemplate thee
and rejoice.
1 1 The great gods fix . . . .*
1 2 Nourisher of the luminous heavens, who favourest . . .3
13 He who has not turned his hands (towards thee . . . .3
14 *
THIRD HYMN.
1 Thou who march est before 3
2 With ANU and BEL 3
3 The support of crowds of men, direct them !
4 He who rules in heaven, he who arranges, is thyself.
5 He who establishes truth in the thoughts of the nations,
is thyself.
6 Thou knowest the truth, thou knowest what is false.
7 SUN, justice has raised its head ;
8 SUN, falsehood, like envy, has spoken calumny.
9 SUN, the servant of ANU and BEL* is thyself;
10 SUN, the supreme judge of heaven and earth is thyself.
11 SUN, 3
[In this place occurs the gap between the two fragments on the
obverse and on the reverse of the tablet.]
12 SUN, the supreme judge of the countries, is thyself.
13 The Lord of living beings, the one merciful to the
countries, is thyself.
1 In the Assyrian version : " Thou art the illuminator of the limits of
the distant heavens."
3 Here occurs a word which I cannot yet make out.
3 Lacunae. 4 In the Accadian Ana and Mul-ge.
CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN. 125
14 SUN, illuminate this day the King, son of his god,1 make
him shine !
1 5 Everything that is working evil in his body, may that be
driven elsewhere.
1 6 Like a cruse of ... .a purify him !
1 7 Like a cruse of milk, make him flow !
18 May it flow like molten bronze !
19 Deliver him from his infirmity !
20 Then, when he revives, may thy sublimity direct him !
2 1 And me, the magician, thy obedient servant, direct me !
FOURTH HYMN.
1 Great Lord, from the midst of the shining heavens at thy
rising,
2 valiant hero, SUN, from the midst of the shining heavens,
at thy rising,
3 in the bolts of the shining heavens, in the entrance
which opens heaven, at thy rising
4 in the bar of the door of the shining heavens, in ... .3
at thy rising,
5 in the great door of the shining heavens, when thou
openest it.
6 in the highest (summits) of the shining heavens, at the
time of thy rapid course,
7 the celestial archangels with respect and joy press
around thee ;
8 the servants of the Lady of crowns4 lead thee in a
festive manner ;
1 Meaning the pious king.
z Here follows an incomprehensible word.
3 Lacuna.
4 In the Assyrian version : "Of the Lady of the gods."
126 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
9 the 'for the repose of thy heart fix thy days ;
10 the multitudes of the crowds on the earth turn their eyes
often towards thee ;
1 1 the Spirits of heaven and earth lead thee.
12 The . . . .x thou crushest them with thy strength,
13 ' thou disco verest them,
14 J thou causest to seize,
15 J thou direciest.
[I am obliged here to pass over five lines which are too
mutilated for me to attempt to translate them with any degree
of certainty.]
2 1 The Lord, as to me, has sent me ;
22 the great god, HEA, as to me, has sent me.2
23 Settle what has reference to him,3 teach the order which
concerns him, decide the question relating to him.
24 Thou, in thy course thou directest the human race ;
25 cast upon him a ray of peace, and let it cure his suffering.
26 The man, son of his god/ has laid before thee his
shortcomings and his trangressions ;
27 his feet and his hands are in pain, grievously defiled by
disease.
28 SUN, to the lifting up of my hands pay attention ;
29 eat his food, receive the victim, give his god (for a
support) to his hand !
30 By his order let his shortcomings be pardoned ! let his
transgressions be blotted out !
3 1 May his trouble leave him ! may he recover from his
disease !
1 Lacunae.
* There is no Assyrian version of this line, we have only the Accadian.
3 The invalid on behalf of whom the invocation is recited.
4 The pious man.
CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN. 127
32 Give back life to the King ! '
33 Then, on the day that he revives, may thy sublimity
envelop him !
34 Direct the King who is in subjection to thee !
35 And me, the magician, thy humble servant, direct me !
FIFTH HYMN.5
1 Magical incantation.
2 I have invoked thee, O SUN, in the midst of the high
heavens.
3 Thou art in the shadow of the cedar, and
4 thy feet rest on the summits.
5 The countries have called thee eagerly, they have
directed their looks towards thee, O Friend ;
6 thy brilliant light illuminates every land,
7 overthrowing all that impedes thee, assemble the
countries,
8 for thou, O SUN, knowest their boundaries.
9 Thou who annihilatest falsehood, who dissipatest the evil
influence
10 of wonders, omens, sorceries, dreams, evil apparitions,
11 who turnest to a happy issue malicious designs, who
annihilatest men and countries
12 that devote themselves to fatal sorceries, I have taken
refuge in thy presence.
13 5
14 Do not allow those who make spells, and are hardened,
to arise;
1 From this verse onwards the Assyrian version is wanting.
2 Cf. also Chaldean Magic, p. 185, 186.
3 Here I am obliged to omit a line, which I cannot yet make out.
128 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
15 Frighten their heart . . . .'
1 6 Settle also, O SUN, light of the great gods.
1 7 Right into my marrow, O Lords of breath, that I may
rejoice, even I.
1 8 May the gods who have created me take my hands !
1 9 Direct the breath of my mouth ! my hands
20 direct them also, Lord, light of the legions of the
heavens, SUN, O Judge !
21 The day, the month, the year . . . .'
. . ." conjure the spell !
. . .* deliver from the infirmity !
1 Lacunae.
I29
TWO ACCADIAN HYMNS.
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
two following hymns, both of which are
unfortunately mutilated, are interesting from their
subject matter. The first is addressed to the Sun-god
Tammuz, the husband of Istar, slain by the boar's tusk
of winter, and sought by the goddess in the under-
ground world. It is this visit which is described in
the mythological poem known as the "Descent of
Istar into Hades" (Records of the Past, Vol. I., p. 143).
The myth of Tammuz and Istar passed, through the
Phoenicians, to the Greeks, among whom Adonis and
Aphrodite represent the personages of the ancient
Accadian legend. Tammuz is referred to in Ezek. viii.
14. (See Records of the Past, Vol. IX., p. 147). The
second hymn treats of the world-mountain, the Atlas
VOL. XI. 10
130 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
of the Greeks, which supports the heaven with its
stars, and is rooted in Hades. Under its other name
Kharsak-kurra, or "Mountain of the East," it was
identified with the present Mount Elwend, and was
regarded as the spot where the ark had rested, and
where the gods had their seat. A reference is made
to it in Isa. xiv. 13. Both hymns illustrate the
imagery and metaphor out of which grew the
mythology of primaeval Babylonia, and offer curious
parallels to the Aryan hymns of the Rig- Veda. The
cuneiform texts are lithographed in the Cuneiform
Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., 27, I, 2.
TWO ACCADIAN HYMNS.
I.
1 O shepherd,1 Lord Tammuz, Bridegroom 2 of ISTAR !
2 Lord of Hades, Lord of Tul-Sukhba !
3 Understanding one, who among the papyri the water
drinks not !
4 His brood in the desert, even the reed, he created not.3
5 Its bulrush in his canal he lifted not up.
6 The roots of the bulrush were carried away.
7 O god of the world, who among the papyri the water
drinks not !
II.
1 O mighty mountain of BEL, Im-kharsak,5 whose head
rivals heaven, whose root (is) the holy deep !
2 Among the mountains, like a strong wild bull, it lieth
down.
3 Its horn like the brilliance of the sun is bright.
1 The early Accadian kings frequently call themselves "shepherds."
According to Berosus, Alorus the first antediluvian king of Babylonia gave
himself the same title. Compare the Homeric TTOL^V Xaobv.
4 Khamir, literally " red " or " blushing one," in reference to the glow of
the setting sun.
3 Or " was not green."
4 Lacuna.
5 " Wind of the mountain."
10*
132 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
4 Like the star of heaven ' it is a prophet and is filled with
sheen.
5 O mighty mother of BELTIS, daughter of Bit-Esir :
splendour of Bit-kurra,2 appointment of Bit-Gigune, hand-
maid of Bit-Cigusurra !3
1 That is, Dilbat, " the prophet," or Venus, the morning star.
* " The temple of the East."
3 " The temple of the land of forests."
4 Lacuna.
133
ASSYRIAN
INCANTATIONS TO FIRE AND WATER.
TRANSLATED BY
ERNEST A. BUDGE.
HTHE original text of these incantations is found
in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia,
Vol. IV., pi. 14, and on tablet K 4902 of the British
Museum collection. They are written in Accadian
and Assyrian. M. Lenormant has divided the great
magical work copied for King Assur-bani-pal into
three classes : (i) that containing formulae of con-
juration against evil spirits ; (2) that containing
formulae for curing divers maladies ; (3) hymns to
certain gods, as fire, water, etc. These incantations
belong to the last of these divisions. Many such are
to be found in the fourth volume of the Cuneiform
Inscriptions, and many more are among the treasures
of the British Museum collection. These bilingual
inscriptions are the more valuable, since they enable
us to compare one language with another.1
1 While these pages were in the press I had ascertained that parts of
these inscriptions have been translated by M. Lenormant, and the late
Mr. Fox Talbot. My translations will appear in the shape of a paper with
grammatical analysis, etc., in the Trans. Soc. Bib. ;4rch.,but on comparison
many differences will be found. See Records of the Past, Vol. III., p. 137;
and Lenormant, La Magie, p. 168.
134 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Among the Chaldeans magic and sorcery attained
to almost the rank of a science ; and one has only to
see the number of magical texts and incantations that
remain (in many cases only fragments), to understand
to how great an extent this pseudo-science was
practised. The primitive population of Accad was
superstitious, and although these incantations were a
part of a pure religion, at one time, they at last
degenerated to mere magical formulae. The formulae
are very numerous. A very fine fragment of a tablet
is lithographed in W. A. /., II., 17 and 18, containing
incantations against demons which take possession of
various parts of the earth, the members of man,
various diseases, etc. ; and each incantation finishes
with the mysterious invocation : " O Spirit of heaven
remember, O Spirit of earth remember." To the
Accadian mind there existed a world of evil spirits.
They saw a "spirit" in every object or force of nature,
and believed that their priests, or rather sorcerers,
could work good or evil by the use of magical charms,1
but gradually these numerous spirits were merged
together among the 600 spirits of earth and 300
of heaven. The tablets containing incantations were
classified in the libraries of Assur-bani-pal, and
numbered thus: "Tablet No. 5 of Evil Spirits."
(W.A.L, IV., 2, col. 6, 1.35).
1 Prof. Sayce, Babylonian Literature p. 42.
'35
INCANTATION TO WATER.
1 AN incantation1 to the waters pure . . . .*
2 The waters of the Euphrates which in the place . . . *
3 The water which in the abyss firmly is established,
4 the noble mouth of HEA,S shines on them.
5 The sons of the abyss (there are) seven of them.4
6 Waters they are shining (clear), waters they are bright,
waters they are bright.
7 In the presence of your father HEA,
8 in the presence of your mother DAVCINA,S
9 may (it) shine, may (it) be brilliant, may. (it) be bright.
10 Conclusion :6 three times a prayer.
1 This occurs in the Accadian only.
2 Lacunse.
3 God of the earth's surface, brightness, etc, and chief protector of men.
His son was called Marduk (the brilliancy of the sun), his daughter,
Nina. The month of lyyar (April) was dedicated to Hea. Marduk is
called " the eldest son of the abyss." W. A. /., IV., 3, 1. 26.
4 "There were seven inhabiting the earth." W. A. /., IV., 15, 67.
" The seven of the abyss were wicked." W, A. I., IV., 2, col. 5, 1. 50 ; and
"They are seven; in the mountain of the setting sun were they born.
They are seven ; in the mountains of the rising sun was their growth."
W. A. L, IV., 15, 22, 24
They are called :
"The seven gods of the vast heaven." W. A. /., IV., i, col. 3, 1. 14.
" The seven gods of the vast earth." W. A. /., IV., i, col. 3, 16.
" The seven wicked gods." PT. A. /., IV., col. 3, 20.
" In the heaven (are they) seven." Line 26.
" In the earth (are they) seven."
5 The wife of Hea.
6 The original CACAMA is Accadian, and is explained in Assyrian by
amami, Heb. pN. See W. A. L, II., 62a.
136 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
FRESH PARAGRAPH.'
1 1 The god of the river (like a charioteer1) put him to flight.
1 2 (This) enchantment before him, its onset like a demon
13 all the world blackens ; like the zenith lofty
14 the Sun-god in his going forth his darkness he removed,
in the house of Ai (he devours3)
1 This occurs in the Accadian text only.
2 This restoration is offered by Prof. Sayce.
INCANTATIONS TO FIRE. 137
INCANTATION TO FIRE.
With the Accadians, as with later eastern nations,
fire was very favourably regarded, and various noble
epithets were given to it. It is called the " warrior,"
" hero," in W. A. /., 17 obv., 1. 4; and mW.A. /., IV.,
26, No. 4, 1. 36, it is called, "the lofty fire," "the
male warrior," " illuminator of darkness," and many
others may be found. It is curious to note that the
name of the solar hero in the great Babylonian epic
means " mass of fire " (Gis-dhu-bar).1 The name of
the fifth month of the year, Ab (July), meant in
Accadian the " month that makes fire."
1 INCANTATION to the desert places holy; may it go forth
2 (this) enchantment, O spirit of heaven mayest thou
remember, O spirit of earth mayest thou remember.*
FRESH PARAGRAPH.
3 The Fire-god the Prince which in the lofty country,
4 the warrior, son of the abyss, which in the lofty country,
5 the god of fire, with thy holy fires,
6 in the house of darkness light thou art establishing.
7 All that is his also proclaimed;3 his destiny thou art
establishing.
8 Of bronze and lead the mixer of them thou (art).
9 Of silver (and) gold the blesser of them thou (art).
10 Of the goddess NiNCASi3 her offspring thou (art).
1 See Prof. Sayce, Assyrian Lectures, p. 25.
2 This sentence is of frequent occurrence in these incantations.
3 I follow exactly the idiom of the original.
4 Accadian," meaning- "the Lady of the horned face."
138 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
11 Of the wicked (man1) in the night changing his breast
thou (art).9
12 Of the man the son of his god3 his limbs mayest thou
make brilliant.
13 Like the heaven may it shine.4
14 Like the earth may it be bright.
28 Like the interior of heaven may it shine.
1 This occurs in the Accadian text only.
• See/F.^. /., IV., 21, 61.;
* A good man.
4 Heaven is called the seat of Anu (W. A. L, IV., 5, col. i, 1. 50).
139
THE ASSYRIAN TRIBUTE LISTS.
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
T TNDER the second Assyrian empire, founded by
Tiglath-Pileser II. and his successors, Shalmaneser
Sargon, Sennacherib, and Esarhaddon, the conquered
provinces were formed into satrapies, and the whole
empire was divided into a certain number of districts
and metropolitan towns, each of which paid a fixed
yearly sum to the royal exchequer. Fragments only
of the lists recording the amount at which each
district and city were assessed have reached us, and
a translation of them is here attempted for the first
time. Copies of the original texts will be found in
the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. II.,
53, No. 2, 3, 4.
140
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
The special importance of these texts is obvious,
since the tribute being generally paid in kind, the
nature of the country and of its products is indicated,
as well as the comparative wealth of the district taxed.
The evidence also afforded by these lists that the
taxation of certain countries was devoted to the
support of various specified places and offices is
curious, inasmuch as a similar system prevailed
throughout Europe up to the Middle Ages.
THE ASSYRIAN TRIBUTE LISTS.
No. 2.— OBVERSE,
i BY regulation. The payment.1 Fifty . . . .3
2 Thirty talents. The tribute of Nineveh. Ten talents
for clothes.
3 Twenty talents, of the country of Assyria, (from) the
same city, for the equipment of the fleet.
4 Ten talents, (from) the same. A fresh assessment. In
all 274 talents.
5 Twenty talents, (from) the harem of the Palace. By
regulation, the payment.
6 Five talents. The tribute of Calah. It is appointed as
payment.
7 Four talents, of the country of Assyria, (from) the
same city. Thirty talents for the highlands.
8 Ten talents (from) the city of £m7, for the lowlands.
9 . . .* talents (from) the city of Nisibis. Twenty
talents for 600 makdkhi.
10 (. . .a talents from) the city of Alikhu, for 600 royal
robes.
11 (. . .* talents) ; for six vestures of linen. Three talents
for epd.
12 (. . .2 talents). Three twice for the security of the gates.
13 (. . .* talents) for the Collector. Two talents (from) the
city of Alikhu.
14 (. . .' talents) for the chariots. For four wheels.
1 Agurtu, Heb. rTTUN. . * Lacunae.
142 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
15 (. . .' talents for) the Astronomer. Three talents for
fringed dresses.
1 6 (. . .' talents for) the throne of the Palace. The tribute
of the city. Two talents for royal robes of purple.
17 (. . -1 talents for) the throne of the Palace . . . ." Two
talents 10 manehs (interest) for 500.
1 8 ' the city of Assur ' again,
19 (. . .' talents from) the city of Kalzu. Two talents
(for) three conduits.
20 (. . .' talents from) the city of Enil. For the persons
of the Overseers.
21 ' the country of Assyria:
Two talents (from) the house of the Collector.
Two talents for the right side.
Five talents for the performance of the regulation.
REVERSE.
1 . . . .' this regulation. Two talents from the Com-
mander-in-chief.
2 (For) clothes each year.
3 (By regulation). The payment. Ten talents from the
country of Risu.2
4 (Levied for) the possession of house-property (on) the
inhabitants of Nineveh.
5 . . . .' the couches of the concubines. Five talents
from their attendants.
1 Lacunae. 2 Or, Rikat.
THE ASSYRIAN TRIBUTE LISTS. 143
6 . . . .' every year from the lowlands.
7 . . . ." the payment of the Collector. Two talents
(from) the male and female carpenters.2
8 . . . .' (from) the house of the Music-director. One
talent for their coverings.
9 . . . .' from the house of the same.
10 . . . ." for the security of the chariot. In all, 190
talents, 10 manehs.
ii . . . .' manehs for what is before him, let him put out
the payment at interest.
12 ... .^ manehs at double interest. Seven talents, 10
manehs (are gained) in addition.
13 Forty manehs and a half the worth of a sleeved dress;
22 talents, khukharat ;
14 at 6 per cent for each half let him put it out at triple
interest.
15 Two talents, wanting the linen dress. Fifteen talents,
10 manehs (for) the same personage.
1 6 Three talents, 10 manehs (for) the custom-house.
Thirty talents, 20 manehs, khukhanu.
1 7 Two manehs for wine presses. Let him put it out at
double interest.
1 8 For veils.
1 9 One talent for the right side.
20 In all let 22 talents be put out at interest.
21 In all, 30 talents, 21 manehs out of 53 talents.
1 Lacunae.
a The Accadian us-lar is rendered by the Assyrian 'uspa, with which
compare the Aramaic notOW "carpenter's axe."
144 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
22 In the presence of the Princes " khukharat let him put
out at interest.
23 We do not receive.2
24 (What) we take we give up.
The following fragment contains a list of the
tributes paid by the cities of Syria.
OBVERSE.
1 Thirty talents (from) the city of Arpad.
2 One hundred talents from the city of Carchemish.
3 Thirty talents (from) the city of Kuhe.
4 Fifteen talents (from) the city of Megiddo.
5 Fifteen talents (from) the city of Mannutsuate.
6 . . . .3 talents (from) the city of Tsimirra.
7 . . . .3 talents (from) the city of Khataracca.4
8 (. . . .3 talents from) the city of Tsubud.
6 (. . . .3 talents from) the city of 'Samalla.
REVERSE.
1 (. . . .3) talents let him put out at interest. Fifty talents
he directs (to be issued) as bronze.
2 It is weighed out in the presence of the Princes.
3 (The tribute of) Damascus,
4 Arpad,
5 Carchemish,
6 Kuhe,
7 Tsubud,
8 Tsimirra,
9 Muni-tsimirra.
1 That is, with the princes as witnesses of the transaction.
2 That is, "we are not guilty of peculation." This is said by the
tax-gatherers.
3 Lacunae. 4 Hadrach.
AN
ASSYRIAN FRAGMENT ON GEOGRAPHY.
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
'T'HE following fragment gives a curious list of the
various countries known to the Assyrians, with their
chief products, and in some cases their geographical
position. Several of these geographical lists remain,
but they are in too fragmentary a condition to be
worth translation. They chiefly date from the period
of Assurbanipal, B.C. 680, but are of considerably older
origin, and appear to have been compiled for the
purposes of the royal exchequer. The text is given
in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol.
VOL. XL 11
146 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
II., 51, I, and is an amendment of the translation
made by M. Oppert in the Transactions of the First
Oriental Congress, p. 224-226.
147
ASSYRIAN FRAGMENT ON GEOGRAPHY.
OBVERSE.
i
1 (The country of . . . .') let it be explained as the
country of BEL. The country of Kharsak kurra as the
(country of . . . .')
2 The country of Gazzir as the country of the Air-god.
The country of Khuduk ..'..'
3 The country of Amanus as the country of cedars. The
country of Khabur2 as (the country of . . . .')
4 The country of Khasur as the country of cedars. The
country of 'Sirara as (the country of . . . .')
5 The country of Lebanon as the country of cypresses.
cuuuuy ui oiiaict ut> \iiic Lummy ui . . . .
5 The country of Lebanon as the country
The country of Arur as (the country of . . . .')
6 The country of Atsildu as the country of cypresses.
The country of Dillik as (the country of . . . .')
7 The country of Lambar as the country of pines. The
country of Dabar as the country of pines.
8 The country of Sargon as the country of books.3 The
country of Sessek as the country of allanu.
9 The country of Bibbu as the country of allanu. The
country of Apaks'i, as the country of clothes.
1 Lacunre.
1 Probably the district round the Habor or Chaboras.
5 Literally, " tablets." The country referred to is the district round
Agane in Babylonia, where Sargon I. established his famous library
(B.C. 2000-1700). Compare also Kirjath-Sepher, "the book city," Jos. xv.
15, 16; Jud. i. u, 12.
11*
148 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
10 The country of Khana as the country of clothes. The
country of Zarsu as the country of silver.
1 1 The country of Aralu ' as the country of gold. The
country of Kappaks'i as the country of gold.
12 The country of . .* arkha as the country of lead.3 The
country of Barsesenu as the country of lead.
13 The country of . ." gaba as the country of the stone
gabsia. The country of Dapara4 as the country of
alabaster.
14 The country of Nirkab as the country of bird's stone.
The country of Accala as the country of the stone . . .*
1 5 The country of Malicanu as the country of the serpent's
sting stone.5 The country of Dulupes as the country of
marble.6
1 6 The country of Dudpes as the country of marble. The
country of Dikmanu as the country of marble.
1 7 The country of Milukhkha 7 as the country of turquoise.8
The country of Maganna 9 as the country of copper.
1 8 The country of Tila as the country of ships. The
country of Saggis as the country of ships.
1 This was the Accadian name of Hades. So in Greek mythology
Pluton, the god of wealth, became a name of Hades, gold and other wealth
being hidden under ground.
2 Lacunae.
3 Or, " tin."
4 That is, of the Bull-god.
5 M. Oppert thinks this means a stone which was considered an antidote
to snake's poison.
6 Parru. Compare the land of Parvaim, 2 Chr. iii. 6.
7 Usually identified with Meroe, but it may be Libya, or south-western
Arabia.
8 Or, "lapis lazuli." Literally, "blue stone."
9 The Sinaitic Peninsula.
ASSYRIAN FRAGMENT ON GEOGRAPHY. 149
19 The country of Enti as the country of treasures. The
country of Khikhi as the country of Phoenicia.
20 The country of Lakhi as the country of Phoenicia. The
country of Temenna1 as the country of Elam.
21 The country of Nisir as the country of Gutium." The
country of Mamanu as the country of Syria.
22 The country of Kharsamna as the country of horses.
The country of 'Sikurragas as the country of Lulubi.3
23 The country of Ciniparpura as the country of Lulubi.4
The country of Saggar as the country of cornelians.5
|. The country of Cipni as the country of palm branches?
24
25 The river Tigris let one explain as the bringer of
fertility.
26 The river Euphrates as the life of the world.
27 The river Arakhtu7 as (the river) which flows into Babylon.
28 The river of the waters of Bel as the minister of
Merodach.
29 The river of Arbela as the mother of rivers.
30 The river of (Za)ban as the minister of ADAR.
31 The river of the mighty waters as giving life to the
enclosure of life.
1 Temenna or Tomon'd means "foundation-stone" in Accadian.
1 It was on the mountain of Nizir that the ark rested. Gutium (the
Goyim of Gen. xiv. i, 9) extended from Mesopotamia to Media, and
included the district which afterwards became Assyria. The mention of
Gutium here seems to show that this list goes back to Accadian times.
3 Perhaps the district north of Mesopotamia known as Lulumi or
Lullume to the Assyrians.
4 In Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. I., 20, 34. Assur-
natsir-pal states that the inhabitants of the country call Nizir " Lullu
Cinipa," and Lullu is termed " a city of Arakdi " or " Arrakdi " on the
Black Obelisk/ line 40.
5 Literally, " necklace stones."
6 Cupani. 7 Araxes.
150 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
32 The river Eulaeus (Ula] (is) the water which carries its
sand to the sea.
33 The river of the Fish (is) the river of fish. The river of
the Bird (is) the river of birds.
34 The river of the Serpent (is) the river of serpents. The
river of the lady of Nisinna ' (is) the river of the goddess
GULA.
35 * The river of Fertility is the river of fertility.
1 Nisin, also called Karrak, was a city of Babylonia.
2 Lacuna.
ACCADIAN PROVERBS AND SONGS.
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
HTHE following is a selection from an interesting
collection of Accadian songs and proverbs, given in a
mutilated reading-book of the ancient language which
was compiled for the use of Assyrian (or rather Semitic
Babylonian) students. These sentences were drawn up
at a time when it was necessary for the scribes to be
familiar with the old language of Accad, and to be
able to translate it into Assyrian, and hence these
phrases are of very great philological value, since
they indicate often analogous words and various
verbal forms. The Assyrian translation and the
152 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Accadian texts are arranged in parallel columns.
Some of the proverbs must be taken from an agri-
cultural treatise of the same nature as the Works and
Days of Hesiod. Copies of the texts will be found in
the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. II.,
15, 1 6.
I53
ACCADIAN PROVERBS.
1 Door and bolt are made fast.
2 Oracle to oracle : to the oracle it is brought.1
3 The cut beam he strikes : the strong beam he shapes.
4 The resting-place of the field which (is) in the house he
will establish.
5 Within the court of the house he feels himself small.
6 A heap of witnesses3 as his foundation he has made
strong.
7 Once and twice he has made gains ;3 yet he is not
content.
8 By himself he dug and wrought.4
9 For silver his resting-place he shall buy.
10 On his heap of bricks a building he builds not, a beam
he set not up.
11 A house like his own house one man to another
consigns.
12 If the house he contracts for he does not complete, 10
shekels of silver he pays.
13 The joists of his wall he plasters.
14 In the month Marches van,5 the 3oth day (let him
choose) for removal.
15 (Let him choose it, too,) for the burning of weeds.
1 6 The tenant of the farm two-thirds of the produce on his
own head to the master of the orchard pays out.
1 That is, "compared."
Accadian izzi rilanna, Assyrian igar kasritu, "heap of covenant,"
like the Hebrew Galeed, Aramaic Yegar-sahadutha (Gen. xxxi. 47).
3 That is, " the more a man has the more he wants."
4 That is, " if you want a thing done, do it yourself."
5 October.
154 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
No. 1 6.— ACCADIAN SONGS.
26 (If) evil
thou hast done,
(to) the sea for ever
. . . .' thou goest.
23 My city bless :
among my men
fully prosper me.
26 Bless everything ;
and to (my) dress be favourable.
28 Before the oxen as they march
in the grain thou liest down.
30 My knees are marching,
my feet are not resting :
with no wealth of thine own,
grain thou begettest for me.
34 A heifer am I ;
to the cow I am yoked :
the plough-handle is strong ;
lift it up, lift it up !
53 May he perform vengeance
may he return also
(to him) who gives.
Lacuna.
ACCADIAN PROVERBS AND SONGS. 155
55 The marsh as though it were not he passes ; '
the slain as though they were not . . . .2 he makes good.
57 To the waters their god3
has returned :
to the house of bright things
he descended (as) an icicle :
(on) a seat of snow
he grew not old in wisdom.
10 Like an oven
(which is) old
against thy foes
be hard.
1 5 Thou wentest, thou spoiledst
the land of the foe ;
(for) he went, he spoiled
thy land, (even) the foe.
1 8 Kingship
in its going forth
(is) like a royal robe(?}
19 Into the river thou plungest, and
thy water (is) swollen
1 I have translated this line from the Accadian, the Assyrian text being
wanting, and the words "a recent lacuna" being written instead. This
makes it clear that the scribe who copied the tablet for Assur-bani-pal's
library did not understand Accadian and could not therefore supply the
translation.
2 Lacunae.
3 This seems to be quoted from a hymn describing the return of Cannes
to the Persian Gulf.
156 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
at the time : I
into the orchard thou plungest, and
thy fruit
(is) bitter.
34 The corn (is) high,
it is flourishing ;
how
is it known ?
The corn (is) bearded,
it is flourishing ;
how
is it known ?
42 The fruit of death
may the man eat,
(and yet) the fruit of life
may he achieve.
1 See Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. I., 25, 10.
'57
ASSYRIAN FRAGMENTS.
TRANSLATED BY
J. H A L E V Y.
poetical fragments which are here translated
are of unusual interest because they afford
authentic information upon different points relating to
social life, morality, and eschatological belief of the
Assyrio-Babylonians. The first fragment is a medical
prescription for cutaneous eruptions. It proves that
the Babylonians were in possession of a rational
medicine, as well as a magical one, which had fallen
into decline at the time of Herodotus, when patients
were exposed in public places.
The second fragment, which is a description of a
virtuous wife, reveals the manners of Babylonian
society in a very advantageous point of view. We
find again here the portrait of the virtuous woman of
the Bible. It is quite different from the deep
demoralization which prevailed at Babylon when
Herodotus visited it. It appears that the forced
prostitution of women, attested by the Greek writer
158 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
was due to the introduction of the Persian worship of
Anaitis, under Artaxerxes.
The third fragment offers a new kind of poetry
which has not been found at present, except among
the Hebrews. It is an elegy on the destruction of the
town of Erech, of which Istarit, Astarte, daughter of
Annu and Anatu, was the patroness. The tone of
the poem, as well as the details of expression, have
such a Biblical stamp, that if Jerusalem was inserted
instead of Erech, and Jehovah instead of Istarit, it
might easily be taken for a psalm lamenting the
destruction of the Holy City.
Lastly, the two last fragments belong to a cycle of
poetry relative to beatification after death. They
paint in brilliant colours the state of the just departed
from earth to the realms of bliss. At the same time
is learned that the Assyrians believed in the future
judgment, and the final bliss of good men. These
precious documents cut short the controversy about
the belief of the immortality of the soul amongst the
Semitic peoples, which has created so much controversy
amongst certain theological schools of France and
Germany. It is now certain the Semites have not
only believed that the soul survived the body but that
it received the reward of its work. This is extremely
important in the point of view of the philosophy of
religions.
159
BABYLONIAN MEDICAL RECEIPT.'
1 FOR the eruptions and tumours which afflict the body :
2 Fill a vase which has held drugs with water from an
inexhaustible well ;
3 put in it a shoot of ... ." a ... ,2 reed, some date-
sugar, some wine, some bitter hydromel ;
4 add to it some . . . .3
5 saturate it with pure water (and)
6 pour upon it the water of the (sick) man ;
7 cut reeds in an elevated meadow ;
8 beat some pure date-sugar with some pure honey ;
9 add some sweet oil which comes from the mountain
(and) mix them together ;
to rub (with this ointment) the body of the (sick) man
seven times.
DESCRIPTION OF A VIRTUOUS WIFE/
i ( What is a virtuous woman T)
z The woman who, being married, has caressed no man ;
1 W. A. I. IV., 26, No. 7. Translated for the first time. This is the
only known specimen of an Assyrio-Babylonian prescription.
a Lacunae.
3 In the Assyrian unki zarihu, an unknown drug or material.
4 Assyrian fragment (W. A. L II., 35, No. 4).]
l6o RECORDS OF THE PAST.
3 who, in her husband's absence, does not paint herself;
4 who, in her husband's absence, takes not off her clothes ;
5 whose veil no free-man, of pure race,1 has raised ;
6 who has never moistened her teeth with an intoxicating
liquor.
ELEGY UPON THE DESTRUCTION OF ERECH.!
1 How long, Lady,4 (wilt thou remain impassible ?)
2 Desolation reigns in Erech, thy magnificent city.
3 Blood has flowed like water in Ulbar, the seat of thine
oracle.
4 Fire has made ravage in all thy countries, and has
scattered itself abroad like a shower.
5 Lady, I suffer immensely from the misfortune.
6 Break the powerful enemy like an isolated reed.
7 I take no more any resolution ; I feel no more myself.
8 I, thy servant, exalt thee.
9 Let thy resentment calm, let thine anger be appeased \
j
1 Before slaves and men of mean rank women of the East are not
obliged to veil the face.
* Lacuna.
' 3 Assyrian fragment (W. A. 1. IV., 19, No. 3).
4 The goddess Istarit or Astarte is the tutelar divinity of the city of Erech.
ASSYRIAN FRAGMENTS. l6l
HYMN UPON THE
LOT OF THE JUST AFTER DEATH.1
1 Wash thy hands, purify thy hands.
2 Let the gods, thine elders, wash their hands, purify their
hands.
3 Eat sacred foods from sacred plates.
4 Drink sacred water from sacred vessels.
5 Prepare thyself for the judgment of the King of the son
of his god.2
BEATIFICATION OF
THE JUST AFTER JUDGMENT.3
i 4
2 They have put there the sacred water.
1 Assyrian fragment (W. A. I. IV., 13, No. 2). This beautifti^ piece
reveals for the first time the Assyrians' belief in a recompense after death.
The just man, having died, departs for the divine regions, accompanied
by the guardian deities, his elders. Arrived there, he takes an invigorating
repast from sacred utensils, and refreshes himself with celestial water, to
prepare himself, without weakness, for the judgment which awaits him,
and which is to terminate in his perfect beatification.
2 That is, "the just man."
3 Assyrian fragment (W. A. I. IV., 25, col. iv.). This fragment should,
evidently, follow the preceding. The just man, having undergone the
examination of the gods, and been found without reproach, becomes the
cherished charge of Anat, who shelters him from every vexatious accident.
Then the god lau, the sage of the gods, transports him into a place of
delight, where he is abundantly provided with the most delicious foods, as
butter and honey. Established in this place which he is to quit no more
without an express order from the gods, he drinks the vivifying water,
that divine drink which gives him eternal life; and, plunged in a sweet
repose which nothing troubles, he sings thanksgivings in honour of the
gods, his benefactors.
4 Lacuna.
12
1 62 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
3 The goddess ANAT, the great spouse of ANU,
4 will cover thee with her sacred hands.
5 The god IAU will transport thee into a place of delights.
6 He will transport thee into a place of delights.
7 He will place thee in the midst of honey and butter.
8 He will pour into thy mouth reviving water ;
9 thy mouth will be opened for thanksgivings.
10 . . .•
Lacuna.
i63
THE MOABITE STONE.
TRANSLATED BY
CHRISTIAN D. GINSBURG, LL.D.
'T'HIS monument was first discovered by the Rev.
F. Klein, of the Church Missionary Society, in 1868,
at Diban. It is a stone of black basalt, being about
3 ft. loin, high, 2 ft. in breadth, and 14^ in. thick, and
rounded both at the top and bottom to nearly a
semicircle, with an inscription on it consisting of
thirty-four straight lines about i^ in- apart running
across the stone.
When the discovery and importance of the inscrip-
tion became known there was great competition for
the possession of it ; but the Moabites exasperated,
" sooner than give it up, put a fire under it, and threw
cold water on it, and so broke it, and then distributed
the bits among the different families to place in the
granaries, and act as blessings upon the corn ; for they
12*
164 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
said that without the stone (or its equivalent in hard
cash) a blight would fall upon their crops." Squeezes
were previously taken from it by M. Ganneau and
Capt. Warren, from which the text has been restored.
The inscription records three great events in the
reign of Mesha, king of the Moabites. Firstly, lines
1-21 record the wars of Mesha with Omri, king of
Israel, and his successors; secondly, lines 21-31
celebrate the public works undertaken by Mesha,
after his deliverance from his Jewish oppressors ;
thirdly, lines 31-34 recount his successful wars against
the Horonajim or the Edomites, which he undertook
by the express command of Chemosh. We may
conclude that Mesha erected this monolith about
B.C. 890.
The present translation was published in The
Moabite Stone, etc., 4to., Second Edition, Reeves and
Turner, Strand, 1871. A history of the literature on
the Moabite Stone is given in that treatise. Nothing
of importance on the subject has appeared since.1
1 There was a subsequent translation by Professor Dr. M. A. Levy, Das
Mesa-Denkmal and seine Schrift, Svo., Breslau, 1871. S.B.
THE MOABITE STONE.
1 I, MESHA/ am son of CHEMOSHGAD, King of Moab, the
2 Dibonite.2 My father reigned over Moab thirty years,3
and I reign-
3 ed after my father. And I erected this stone to CHEMOSH
at Korcha, (a stone of)
4 (sa)lvation,4 for he saved me from all despoilers, and let
me see my desire upon all my enemies.
5 Now OM(R)I, King of Israel, he oppressed Moab many
days, for CHEMOSH was angry with his
6 l(a)nd. His son succeeded him, and he also said, I will
oppress Moab. In my days he said, (Let us go)
7 and I will see my desire on him and his house, and
1 Mesha is the same monarch whose desperate but successful resistance
to the invasion of the three allied kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom is
described in 2 Ki. iii. 4-27.
3 The ruins of Dibon are situate on the east side of Jordan about an hour
north of the Arnon, and are called Dibhan. See Jos. xiii. 9; Num. xxxii. 34.
3 The expedition of the three allied kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom
against Mesha took place most probably in the first year of Jehoram's
reign, B.C. 896, which is to be inferred from the fact that Elisha was in the
camp. As this invasion was undertaken because Mesha, on his accession
to the throne of Moab, had revolted against Israel and thus terminated the
forty years' vassalage, the thirty years' reign of his father Chemoshgad
must have commenced B.C. 926, or synchronized with the fourth year of
Omri's sole reign and the reigns of Ahab (B.C. 918-898) and Ahaziah
(B.C. 898-896).
4 Mesha seems almost to use the very language which Samuel uttered,
when he put up a similar pillar between Mizpeh and Shen, i Sam. vii. 12.
1 66 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Israel said, I shall destroy it for ever. Now OMRI took
the land
8 Medeba,1 and (the enemy) occupied it (in his days and
in) the days of his sons, forty years. And CHEMOSH (had
mercy)
9 on it in my days ; and I built Baal Meon,2 and made
therein the ditch, and I (built)
10 Kirjathaim.3 For the men of Gad dwelled in the land
(Atar)oth from of old, and the K(ing of I)srael, fortified
1 1 A(t)aroth, and I assaulted the wall and captured it, and
killed all the w(arriors of)
12 the wall, for the well-pleasing of CHEMOSH and Moab;
and I removed from it all the spoil, and (of-
13 ferred) it before CHEMOSH in Kirjath; and I placed
therein the men of Siran and the me(n of)
14 Mochrath. And CHEMOSH said to me, Go, take Nebo"
against Israel. (And I)
1 5 went in the night, and I fought against it from the break
of dawn till noon, and I took
1 6 it, and slew in all seven thousand (men, but I did not
kill) the wom-
17 en (and ma)idens, for (I) devoted (them) to ASHTAR-
CHEMOSH ;5 and I took from it
1 8 (the ves)sels of JEHOVAH and offered them before
CHEMOSH. And the King of Israel fortif(ied)
1 A Moabite city, on the eastern side of the Jordan,
3 Its ruins are situate about two miles south-east of Heshbon ; they are
called Maein. See Num. xxxii. 38.
3 The present ruin Kureiyat, under the south side of Jebel Atturus.
Num. xxxii. 37, 38.
4 Nebo was almost midway between Baal Meon and Medeba.
5 Ashtar, the masculine companion to the feminine Ashtarte, appears
here for the first time in the religions of Canaan.
THE MOABITE STONE. 167
1 9 Jahaz, and occupied it when he made war against me ;
and CHEMOSH drove him out before (me, and)
20 I took from Moab two hundred men, all its poor, and
placed them in Jahaz, and took it
21 to annex it to Dibon.1 I built Korcha, the wall of the
forest, and the wall
22 of the city, and I built the gates thereof, and I built the
towers thereof, and I
23 built the palace, and I made the prisons for the
crim(inal)s with(in the)
24 wall. And there was no cistern in the wall in Korcha,
and I said to all the people, Make for yourselves
25 every man a cistern in his house. And I dug the ditch,3
for Korcha with the (chosen) men of
26 (I)srael. I built Aroer, and I made the road across the
Arnon,
27 I built Beth-Bamoth,3 for it was destroyed; I built
Bezer,4 for it was cu(t down)
28 by the armed men of Dibon, for all Dibon was now
loyal ; and I reign(ed)
29 from Bikran, which I added to my land, and I bui(lt)
30 (Beth-Gamel), and Beth-Diblathaim, and Beth-Baal-
Meon, and I placed there the p(oor)
3 1 (people of) the land. And as to Horonaim (the men of
Edom) dwelt therein (on the descent from of old).
1 Dibon in this line and line 28 denotes a district, which obtained its
name from the town it surrounded.
3 To make the fortifications as safe as possible.
3 Beth-Bamoth is most probably identical with the place mentioned in
Num. xxi. 19; Isa. xv. 2; and in Num. xxii. 4; Jos. xiii. 17.
4 Bezer was a city of the Reubenites. See Deut. iv. 43 ; Jos, xx. 8 ;
xxi. 36 ; I Chr. vi. 78.
1 68 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
32 And CHEMOSH said to me, Go down, make war against
Horonaim, and ta(ke it. And I assaulted it),
33 (And I took it for) CHEMOSH (restored i)t in my days.
Wherefore I ma(de) . . . .'
34 ... .' year . . . .' and I . . . ..*
1 Lacunae.
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